Everlasting Truth or Dare
by LittleRedOne
Summary: It started late one night in the common room with an innocent request. It lead to so much more than they could have expected. Join them as they figure out their feelings for each other and just what to do about them. Ginny/Seamus. Disregards HBP and DH.
1. The Game

**A/N:** I've been working on this story on and off for over two years. It's still not completely finished, but I've got several chapters done and am ready to start posting them every so often. Ginny and Seamus are two of my favorite characters and, therefore, a pairing I cherish. I hope you like this.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything you recognize from the Harry Potter series.

* * *

It all started one fall night in the nearly empty common room with an innocent request. "_Let's play a game_." Seamus and Dean had been helping Ginny with a particularly hard Potions assignment. Dean had bailed much earlier - after being all but begged by a third year to draw a picture for her. That left only Seamus to help her and, knowing they had a long night ahead of them, Seamus grabbed some candy from his secret stash for a much needed energy boost. They devoured various sweets until they felt satisfied with their sugar rushes and finished up her work. That brought them to where they were now - work done, wide-awake and nothing else to do.

"Truth or dare?" Ginny suggested back at Seamus with a grin. She loved playing this game and she knew with Seamus and his brazen recklessness she could dare practically anything and he wouldn't hesitate to do it. He nodded his agreement and grinned back at her. "Rules?"

"The basics," he shrugged. "If dared to do something at a later time you have to have some sort of valid proof or a witness. If you refuse a dare, you have no choice but to take the consequence. Game ends when one of us says it's over. No complaints."

"Wonderful!" she smirked. "Truth or dare then?"

"Dare," he said boldly. She eyed him critically before giving him his dare.

"I dare you to go take a few laps around the corridors," she said slowly before finishing with, "dressed like a unicorn."

He blinked, processing such an idea before nodding. "Find me a unicorn costume and we've got a deal."

It took five minutes for them to find what they needed and create a make-shift unicorn costume. If Ginny was to be honest she didn't even need him to go running through the corridors anymore, just creating the costume was entertaining enough for her. She'd borrowed her room mate's stuffed unicorn and charmed it to stick to Seamus's head like a hat to give the impression of him having a horn. Then they'd charmed all of his clothes white and Ginny took great pleasure in shredding an old shirt he'd allowed her to destroy in order to create a tail. She almost wished she'd had a camera to take a picture of him, but knew she'd never forget the picture he made anyway and sent him on his way.

Twenty minutes passed and she was starting to get worried. Seamus hadn't returned yet and she knew he could lap around the corridors fast enough to be finished by now. With a sigh she decided it was only appropriate to go look for him and make sure he wasn't in trouble. She opened the portrait door and, looking around to make sure the coast was clear, she left the comfort of the common room in search of him. She nearly missed him when she finally came across him. If it hadn't been for the hushed "_Ginny! Hide!_" and the arm pulling her behind a tapestry she never would have seen him. She turned to look at him in bewilderment, none too kindly asking, "What are you doing?"

"Filch," was all he said. However, no more was needed for her to understand. He'd come across the caretaker patrolling the halls and had needed to hide. She went to say something but he silenced her with a shake of the head and she sighed to herself. A few minutes passed and Ginny was left wondering if her friend would ever let her talk. Eventually she stopped waiting for the okay.

"Where was Filch supposed to have been?" she whispered.

"He went around that corner," Seamus said, pointing in the direction Ginny had originally been headed.

"And if he went around the corner why are we still hiding?"

Seamus sighed, looking, for all extents and purposes, like explaining this to her would be a tedious task. "You know he always does a double patrol of the corridors," he frowned. "We need to wait for him to make his second loop."

Though she knew his words to be true, Ginny didn't fancy the idea of hiding behind a tapestry while Filch strolled all the way around the loop the corridors made - that's if he hadn't already done two loops even. She just needed a good distraction to get Seamus to leave the cover of the tapestry. It didn't take long for an idea to strike and, though she was hesitant to share her knowledge, she suggested it anyway. "How about we go to the kitchens for a snack?" she suggested, rolling her eyes at the way his face lit up instantly. "If we take the stairs straight across from us we'll be gone before Filch comes back around the corner."

Seamus barely had to debate it before he grinned and nodded. "I could use a snack."

Rolling her eyes once again she dashed out from behind the tapestry and down the stairs, Seamus only seconds behind her. She slowed down when she was on the next flight of stairs and secure in the fact they were out of Filch's range. Taking care to keep an eye around her and painstakingly avoid her favorite secret passages, they were safely on their way to the kitchens.

"I only got through a loop and a half," Seamus said suddenly, a frown crossing his face. "You suppose that's enough? I can run a loop here if you want to wait for me to finish."

She laughed. "I think you're good Seamus. After all, you're trekking through the whole castle in that costume."

He laughed, grabbing his tail and swatting at her arm with it. "You little schemer," he teased. "That was your plan this whole time wasn't it?"

"Oh yes," she smirked. "Because I adore being seen with a man dressed as a unicorn. Does wonders for my image don't you think?"

"Oy," he said, sounding indignant. "If any man can pull this costume off, you know it's me, love."

This time, she swatted at his arm and laughed. "I'm not sure I'd be terribly proud of that if I were in your shoes."

"Be glad you're not then," he said, changing the pace of the conversation. "Now I believe, dear Ginny, that it's my turn. Truth or Dare?"

"Dare of course," she answered.

"Since we're here," he smirked, coming to a stop in front of the doors to the great hall. "Are you any good with a hovering charm?" Ginny nodded somewhat hesitantly and he grinned. "Brilliant! I dare you to switch the banners around."

"How so?" she asked. "Would you like them all huddled in a corner? Over the wrong tables? Maybe they should assault a person at the door?"

"Over the wrong tables," he said thoughtfully. "Wonder how long before anyone will notice. You know people don't look at 'em."

"Too true," she grinned. She switched all the banners around, taking an odd delight in moving the Gryffindor banners over the Slytherin table - both houses would undoubtedly hate that. When she was finished she turned back to Seamus with a smirk. "Are we good?"

"We're great," he beamed.

"Good, now let's get to the kitchens.

After eating a disgusting number of desserts provided by the house elves, Seamus was nearly ready to give up on the dares. They had kept up the game throughout his eating, but that last éclair made him want to lie down onto the bench they sat on and never move again. Ginny, amused but sympathetic, agreed that he could stay in his seat until ready to make the trip back to their common room. Seamus sighed in relief as he had last picked dare and had stuffed his face while waiting for her to choose something.

"Alright," she grinned. "I know one that you can do when you get back to the common room." Seamus nodded his agreement with this switch in the game and she went on. "When you go up to bed tonight, I dare you to wake one of your dorm mates with a copy of Witch Weekly, insisting you can't sleep until you're read to," she laughed. "Oh and you can't mention it's a dare!"

"That's going to take forever," he whined pathetically.

"You could take a consequence instead," she taunted, knowing he'd never agree to that.

"No, I'll do it," he said quickly. "I'm just saying it won't be easy."

"Yes! Now make sure to pick a good roommate. Not Neville, he'd be no fun, and not Dean, he'd probably sock you."

"I'll probably go for Ron," Seamus shrugged. "Just for the kicks. Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Tell me, in detail, just how dead sexy I am," he grinned. As an after thought he added on, "And you can feel free to compliment many features."

"Way to give me the hardest dare imaginable," she teased. She stared at him critically, making sure to choose her words carefully as she answered. "Let's start with your eyes then. I love how they're almost always twinkling with amusement, like they currently are. Even when you're being serious, your eyes show your sense of humor. I suppose you've got a nice face. Your features are very masculine, which most girls love. It makes you look, well, manly you know? Even with a unicorn sitting on your head. Your grin has made many girls, enemies included, weak in the knees. Your hair," she paused and tilted her head to the side, as if recalling his hair. "Well it's kind of sexy honestly. The way it's got that naturally ruffled look to it. You do nothing to it really, but it pulls your whole look together. And that's all you're going to get out of me. Is that all good enough for you?"

"It sure is love!" As he grinned over the table at her the twinkle she mentioned in his eye was shining tenfold. He quipped, "I feel like I could conquer the whole female population."

"Oh no," Ginny groaned. "What have I done?" Seamus rolled his eyes at her dramatics. "Fine, fine! Truth or dare?"

"Truth this time."

"Why in the world did you ask out Cho Chang? Surely you heard what a mess she was from Harry."

"I did hear, but she's damn good looking. Plus, I wanted a date and she happened to be available," he finished with a grin.

"Boys are so unbelievable," she huffed lightly.

"Well who else could I have asked? All the good girls are taken," he defended himself. "Truth or dare?"

"I'll go with a truth this time too."

"How much did you really learn from Fred and George?" he asked. "Besides where the kitchens are – which I highly appreciate learning by the way."

"More than I want anyone to know," she sighed, knowing she'd have to share the information she'd kept secret for so long. "I know every secret passage through the castle, every passage in or out of the castle, the best and worst hiding spots and that's only for getting around. I can scheme as good as them, get myself out of most any situation and I even invent with them sometimes when they get stuck and want a fresh mind's outlook. To sum it up, I know about everything. I mean, I'm sure they kept plenty from me, but still."

"Wow Ginny," he said in awe. "That's bloody awesome."

"No Seamus, that's a bloody secret," she mocked.

"I won't tell anyone," he told her solemnly. "I know how that news would cause you hell because I'm now _certain_ you're behind many mystery pranks from last year and the beginning of this one so far."

She nodded and grinned. She had gotten away with so much already. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Carry me around all day tomorrow."

"Done. Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Offhandedly mention to Dean what a lovely time you've had with me tonight. It'll be fun to see him get worked up, especially after I carry you in."

"Done," she grinned. She, too, thought that'd be quite fun, a bit cruel, but fun. "Truth or dare?"

"Bed," he answered instead. "I'm ready to pass out."

"That's what you get for eating so much," she scolded lightly. "But alright. Let's head back." They made quick work of reaching the common room. Deciding not to leave their mess behind, they picked up the things they'd left earlier and fixed Seamus's clothes back to normal, removing the unicorn from his head. They were just getting ready to say goodnight when Ginny grabbed a magazine from a bin near the fireplace where the girls often kept the outdated issues. "Don't forget your Witch Weekly!"

"I never go to bed with out it," he joked, taking the copy she offered. He headed towards the staircase chuckling. "If Ron avoids me in the morning don't be surprised. Good night."

"I'll be waiting right here for my ride," she called to his back. Tomorrow would be a fun day indeed.

* * *

"Are you coming to breakfast or not?" Dean asked with an edge of impatience. Seamus and he had just come down the stairs and, instead of heading straight through the common room to the portrait, Seamus had made an unexpected turn and sat down in front of the fireplace.

"I'll be there shortly," Seamus answered, waving him on. "There's something I have to do." Dean eyed him questionably for a moment before shrugging and heading down by himself. It was only a few minutes later when Ginny came down the stairs. She looked as tired as Seamus felt, but when she saw him waiting for her a grin spread across her face. He stood and gave a gallant bow. "Your chariot awaits."

"Why thank you."

Grabbing her bag, he picked her up, arms under her back and knees and was rewarded with giddy laughter erupting from her. They made their way down to the Great Hall receiving many odd looks along the way.

"So here's the decision of the day," he told her as they neared the entrance hall. "If the banners aren't moved back do we sit under our banner? Or at our table?"

She thought it over for a moment before a slow grin spread over her face to match the one on his. "Our banner," she answered. "If you're up for the Slytherin table that is."

"Oh I'm up for it love. Who would I be to pass a chance to rightly mess with a few of them."

When they walked into the Great Hall they were happy to see the banners were, indeed, still over the wrong tables. Ginny thought it a little unlikely that no one had noticed, but, like Seamus had said before, how many people actually looked up at them before sitting down. Seamus gave her a quick squeeze before heading over to the Slytherin table with his head held high, looking as if he had every right to be setting Ginny down on their bench before situating himself beside her.

"I know it's still hard to figure out after six years," said a boy dryly across from them whose name Ginny couldn't recall, "But you're at the wrong table, Finnigan."

"I'm 'fraid not," Seamus shook his head. "My table is under my house banners, Nott. If you'd turn your attention upwards," he told him, tilting his own head back and resting his eyes on the scarlet and gold above, "you'd see I'm at quite the right table."

Nott rolled his eyes but looked up anyway, startled to see Gryffindor banners where the Slytherins rightfully belonged. His eyes scanned the other house banners before looking back at them. "Just because your banner is here doesn't mean you can sit here. You don't see us sitting at the Hufflepuff table do you?"

Seamus was about to respond when Ginny nudged him in the side. He shot her a questioning look and she tilted her head towards the Gryffindor table, where Dean and a few others were looking over at them in confusion. He grinned at her instead and, with a cheery goodbye to Nott, scooped her up and moved over to his own table. He dropped her beside Dean before situating himself in the space on her other side and filling his plate with great concentration. When he finally glanced up it was to find everyone around him looking at him funnily.

"What?" he asked, trying to sound for all extents and purposes like he had no idea what the problem could be.

"Did you just carry Ginny in here? To the Slytherin table?" Dean asked slowly.

"Yes," he responded simply, taking a bite of his eggs.

"Why?"

"Thought it'd be fun," he shrugged carelessly. "And there's been some mix up with the banners it seems. We just went to sit under ours." It took him a lot of control not to laugh at the look on Dean's face, but he didn't want to ruin it. Luckily, Ginny burst into laughter and everyone's attention turned her way instead just then. Seamus gave her a look to say "your turn" and she nodded once and turned to Dean, pulling herself together.

"How'd the drawing work out Dean?" she asked kindly. "I hope it didn't turn out to be difficult."

"It's looking good," he answered. "I'm not finished yet though. I thought I'd give it some good detail."

"Oh, that's sweet of you," she smiled. With all of his step sisters Ginny knew he had a soft spot for younger girls - and not in the creepy kind of way.

"Did you finish your assignment okay?" he asked. "I'm sorry I didn't stay and help. She was pretty relentless though."

"Oh yes!" she smirked. "Finished it with minimal problems. Seamus and I ended up having a smashing time as well."

Dean quickly looked to Seamus and back after catching her smirk. "What did you guys do?"

"Oh you know," she said nonchalantly, "stuff."

"Stuff?"

"Stuff," Seamus confirmed, holding in his laughter again.

Dean looked particularly bothered. "Like what?"

"Oh nothing really," Ginny answered.

"Wouldn't interest you mate," Seamus added on.

Everyone watched this exchange closely, none missing the looks passing between the pair. They both turned to their breakfast, ignoring the rest of the questions; they were waiting for the next bit of fun. Dean had quit on asking questions when it became obvious he wouldn't be getting any answers, but he kept sending wary glances between the two. He wanted to know what was up with his girlfriend and his best mate. After many minutes of quietly enjoying their breakfast Harry and Ron walked into the Great Hall, the latter looking particularly tired. Seamus was first to notice him and quickly nudged Ginny.

"Ron!" she called out immediately upon spotting him. "Come sit over here. I need to talk to you quick." He sent an unsure glance to Seamus, who smiled in return, before rushing out an excuse.

"Sorry Gin, Harry needed to talk to me about something important." He quickly ushered a confused Harry away, proving his lie instantly.

"Well that was odd," Neville pointed out slowly, staring at their retreating backs as they moved to the far end of the table.

"A lot of odd things have been going on," Dean corrected him, still glancing between Ginny and Seamus, both of whom were laughing maniacally.

"I have to get going now," Ginny announced after the group ate their breakfast in silence. "I've got Potions and would hate to be late."

Everyone watched in wonder as Seamus stood, picked up both of their bags and waited for Ginny to rise. She turned to share a quick kiss with Dean before getting up and turning to Seamus, who picked her up and walked towards the doors. "Oy!" He turned at the sound of Dean's voice. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Going to class," Seamus answered innocently.

"I mean with Ginny you git!" he specified in exasperation.

"I'm bringing her to Potions," he said simply before turning and walking away. Once outside, with the doors firmly shut behind them, Seamus finally burst out laughing - Ginny quick to join in. They loved the way everyone had been staring at them.

"How did it go with Ron?" she asked once they calmed down and were headed for Potions.

"It was brilliant! I wish you could have been there," he shook his head fondly. "He had no idea what was going on when I woke him up. He kind of just nodded and accepted the magazine. Once he started to read, though, I started commenting on articles. Giving him my input, you know? That definitely woke him up to what was going on. I even tried, unsuccessfully I'm sad to say, to start a debate with him."

"Wicked, I hope he's scarred for life now," she smirked. Her smirk only grew as an idea struck her.

"Truth or dare Shay?"

"I thought we ended this?" he raised an eyebrow.

"It ends when we say it's over," she specified. "All you said was that you were going to bed."

"Dare," he grinned, loving her logic.

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for giving the first chapter a chance! I hope it didn't disappoint.


	2. The Burrow

**A/N:** I'm happy to find a number of you liked this idea. This chapter jumps ahead a good chunk of time. I hope that doesn't disappoint any of you.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything you recognize from the Harry Potter series.

* * *

The year at Hogwarts progressed in much the same fashion. Within two months people had begun to realize that the odd occurrences the two were always involved with were the results of an ongoing game. Even after the realization, however, many of their friends were still curious about the interactions between the pair; they grew continually closer as the game went on. Between the dares they distributed for laughs and the truths they asked for answers, they quickly became close friends.

Dean wasn't taking too kindly to his girlfriend and best mate becoming so close, of course. He wouldn't have had any problem with them being close; it was more the way they were accomplishing that. They had a special bond that Dean just couldn't connect with. He began to grow increasingly jealous each time he saw or heard of a dare being acted out. He tried several times to get them to include him in the game, but they just kept telling him that he hadn't started with them and they couldn't be letting people join – regardless if it were him. He felt, as her boyfriend, he should be the one who was so close to her and have the special bond, not Seamus. Ginny just said she had a bond with each of them and that they were just different and he shouldn't complain or just maybe he'd find himself with out a bond at all anymore. He kept his major complaints to himself from then on.

As for Ginny and Seamus, they were oblivious to what everyone else thought of them. They obviously knew Dean wasn't terribly supportive of what they were doing, but they also knew he wouldn't understand. They were having fun and that's all that mattered to them. The dares ranged from hilarious, to embarrassing, to wimpy, to cruel. They did them all though; neither wanted to be the first one to back down on a dare. The truths ranged greatly as well. They went from silly, to serious, to embarrassing, to completely unfair things to make someone admit. However, they told the full truth each time; they trusted each other completely. There was an unspoken agreement between them that if they were telling each other personal things, they would remain fully confidential. The less significant things turned out being useful.

Seamus had once answered as his favorite drink being the hot chocolate with an added hint of caramel that his mother always made him growing up. Ginny figured it must be great if it beat out pumpkin juice – which he drank like it would one day disappear and he wanted to be sure he got his fill. The next day she sent a letter to his mother for the recipe. She wrote that Seamus had been raving about her hot chocolate and could she please have the exact recipe because she wanted to surprise him with it one day. His mother had written back promptly, her letter oozing of pride at Seamus's compliment. Ginny held on to the recipe until the perfect time presented itself. It was a couple weeks before it happened; Seamus had been having a bad day and just seemed overall depressed. She surprised him with a large cup of the hot chocolate in the common room that night and delivered the message that he should write to his mother now that she'd made him a cup. It became a tradition to sit and share cups of his mother's cocoa whenever one member of the duo had a bad day.

Ginny confided that when she was overworked she simply longed to be home - pouring over Muggle objects with her father and eating her mother's heavenly cooking. Taking a page out of her book, he owled her mum explaining he was a friend of Ginny's and asking if she could please send Ginny some of her cooking because she had been stressed lately and the familiarity would help relax her. Along with the meal Ginny received there was a letter addressed to Seamus. Mrs. Weasley had written to say what a fine boy he was to look after her daughter and that she sent along enough food for him too. Seamus thought that, by the looks of it, she may have actually sent enough food for all of Gryffindor but Ginny assured him the oversized container was meant to hold just enough for the two of them. Mrs. Weasley had also added an invitation to visit the Burrow over the summer to get some fresh food and so she could meet "such a fine young man." He had been blushing by the end of the letter and promised himself he'd write back and thank her for her kindness. Ginny beamed at him. Hermione, for some reason, looked just as delighted as Ginny. Harry didn't look too pleased while Dean and Ron just settled on a nice set of glares.

When summer had come around Seamus didn't waste much time in making plans to spend a day at the Burrow. As soon as he'd stepped off the Hogwarts Express Ginny was dragging her mom over to him and, after proper introductions were made, they'd set up a day for him to visit. Somehow he'd started writing back and forth with Mrs. Weasley every few weeks since the first set of letters. It was never much more than checking in to see if the other was doing well and, on Mrs. Weasley's part, hinting none too discreetly that he took wonderful care of her daughter and would make a wonderful match for her. He always wrote back negating any claims she made of such a thing, but would joke good naturedly about what a match he was with Ginny later on those evenings. Dean had been less than pleased to hear about his plans, but Seamus was too eager to really be properly concerned.

Mrs. Weasley had simply adored Seamus. She fussed over him just like any of her sons - or Harry - making him eat ridiculous amounts of food and constantly offering him anything she could find to make his visit more pleasant. Ginny was thrilled to have him as well. As much as she loved her brothers, she was getting sick of just them. School had her too used to a large number of companions. Seamus made for a lovely distraction.

"Truth or dare Seamus?" she asked lazily hours into his visit.

"Truth," he grinned.

"Do you like it here?"

"Are you kidding? I'm having a blast," he laughed lightly. "Your mum is all kinds of nice."

"Good," Ginny grinned. "I'm having a blast too."

"Truth or dare Gin?"

"Truth."

"What's your favorite memory here at the Burrow?" This was how most of their conversations worked these days. They didn't simply ask questions, they asked truths. If the other person chose dare, well, they just had to wait to get their answers. It was a rare occurrence for them to have a conversation these days that didn't include that fateful question.

"There're so many good ones," she said after a moment's consideration. "I think my absolute favorite is just before Charlie left for Romania. I had been terribly upset that he was going so far away; I cried constantly." She paused to laugh at herself before continuing. "He took me out to the Orchards and we had a little picnic. He said he'd write me everyday if I wanted him to. That picnic was the best day ever."

"Didn't you already have a brother who moved away?" he asked.

"Yeah, Bill went to Egypt, but I was closer to Charlie than the others," she explained. "He was the one who spent time with me doing whatever _I_ wanted to do. He'd play dolls with me, have tea parties or do anything I wanted, no matter how girly my ideas were. Every one else was always more reluctant to play girl games. I mean, can you see Fred and George playing dolls?" she grinned at the image and Seamus laughed softly. "He never tried to teach me his hobbies. I was either interested in them or not. It was my choice. If I didn't want to do any of the things he liked to do he wouldn't make me and he wouldn't complain. It would have been very selfish of me," she laughed. "But it turned out I liked his hobbies anyway. I know a lot about Dragons you know. He could never stop my interest, not that he would ever try. Mum did; she didn't want her baby girl to be interested in boy things. I was though, because they were so important to Charlie. And really, they're truly fascinating creatures. Oh! And we used to go for runs," she grinned. "I'd tag along sometimes when he wanted to go and he'd pretend I wasn't being a pain and slowing him down. He was always so awesome."

"He does sound pretty awesome," Seamus agreed.

"Yeah," she sighed. "Except he was in school then so it was really only over the holidays I got to see him."

Seamus took a minute to think over what she'd said about her brother. He could easily understand why Charlie would be the favorite. He would forfeit his own wants to do what she wanted - all while being in that weird school age where you want nothing more than to have everything to do with your friends. "Ya know Gin, I think I'd like to meet this favorite brother sometime," he told her. "He sounds like a great bloke."

"That's a wonderful idea!" she said, sitting up excitedly. "He'll be home in two weeks and you can come back to meet him and spend another day here!"

"That does sound great Gin," he said hesitantly. "But can you do me a favor first?"

"What?"

"Could you invite Dean over sometime this summer?" he asked. "He wasn't too pleased I was coming over here today."

"Oh goodness you're right," her eyes widened. "I'll owl him as soon as you leave to invite him over one day."

"Thanks, love," he grinned, feeling relieved that his friend would get his own time with her and hopefully back off him a bit.

"Truth or dare Seamus?"

"Dare."

"Good," she grinned. "I dare you to ask my mum how she met my dad."

"This is going to be a long story isn't it?"

"Yup, but it's entertaining!"

Seamus groaned for her benefit and got up. Bending down, he scooped Ginny up over his shoulder and took off running towards the house. Depositing her in a heap on the floor on his way into the house he called out, "Mrs. Weasley?"

"In the kitchen dear!" Came her answer. "I thought I'd make you a snack to take to your mother."

"Thank you," he smiled. Their mothers had met at the train station as well and were very friendly with each other. "She'd love that. I actually wanted to ask you something though."

"What's that dear?" she asked absent-mindedly.

"How'd you and Mr. Weasley meet? How'd you end up falling in love?"

"Oh you don't want to hear that," she said with a faint blush.

"Of course I do," he persisted. "Gin said it'd be a great story to hear."

"I'm sure she did." Mrs. Weasley raised an eyebrow at her daughter, who smiled brightly back at her. Her eyes then landed on Seamus, who was sitting patiently at the table as he waited for the tale and she sighed. "Oh, alright then. Back in my Hogwarts days…"

Ginny took off while her mum retold the story she'd heard a thousand times before. She figured she'd better write Dean now. If she didn't it was very likely she'd forget later.

_Dean,_

_How've you been since the last letter? Things have been lovely here. Ron's been a bit on my nerves, but what can I do? Today's the day Seamus was coming to visit. He's downstairs now with mum. I thought I'd write to you to see if you'd like to come over one day. We hadn't discussed such a thing yet. We can hang out together and with my brothers. I better get back down stairs to rescue Seamus from my mum though. Write me with an answer soon._

_Ginny_

She read over what she wrote and was surprised to find how impersonal it turned out. This wasn't the first time she found this problem this summer. Nearly half of the letters she'd written him had to be rewritten to seem more appropriate for a letter to your boyfriend. She sighed and grabbed a fresh sheet of parchment.

* * *

"You really did that?" Seamus laughed along with Mrs. Weasley. He was thoroughly enjoy the story and was very happy he'd asked to hear it.

"Of course I did," Mrs. Weasley said passionately. "I needed to get Arthur's attention off her! It really seemed the best way."

"You couldn't think to maybe just call his name and make up something important to talk to him about?" he grinned. "Your first thought was to just grab him and snog him?"

"Desperate times call for desperate measures my dear. One day you'll find a girl who'll make you lose rational thoughts and act on impulse. And when you do you hold on to her." Mrs. Weasley smiled softly as she noticed his cheeks color slightly. "If you've already found her, keep her."

"I've found her Mrs. Weasley," he muttered, half embarrassed at having been read so easily. "But she isn't mine."

"Who's not yours?" Ginny asked brightly coming down the stairs and catching the tail end of the conversation. Mrs. Weasley watched in understanding as Seamus' cheeks turned a darker pink.

"No answers rewarded to eavesdroppers," he teased to avoid any awkward situation he'd undoubtedly get himself into. "Your mum and I were just having a gossip-fest. So what happened after that Mrs. Weasley?"

Not wanting to embarrass the boy farther, Mrs. Weasley quickly finished up the story and ushered them back out of the kitchen. She knew from that conversation, of course, that all her little hints had not been in vain. Seamus Finnigan would one day make a perfect match for her daughter. It was just a matter of time.

* * *

Dean had set up his own time to visit Ginny at the Burrow, but she couldn't bring herself to be as excited about his visit as she had been with Seamus's. They simply lazed around and talked on and off. She was relieved when Ron showed up and engaged Dean in a game of chess. If she thought there was anything weird about the fact that she kept Seamus hidden from Ron, but left Dean right out to be found, she didn't voice it. Her favorite brother would be home in a week and Seamus would be coming to meet him that same day. She'd have her two favorite guys all for herself. Plus, Harry should be showing up days after Charlie's arrival - Hermione as well. That was all something she was excited for. As wrong as it was, she was more excited for many other people visiting than her boyfriend. She snuck into the kitchen to find her mum. She thought it was time for some advice.

"What's wrong?" her mum asked, looking up from the book she'd been flipping through to see a frown across her daughter's face. "Isn't Dean having a good time?"

"I assume so," Ginny shrugged carelessly. "He's playing chess with Ron."

"Are _you_ having a good time?" Mrs. Weasley asked hesitantly. She wasn't sure now was the time to get into this with her daughter.

"I guess," she shrugged in return. "Can I ask you something mum?"

"Anything dear," she responded right away, shutting her book to provide her full attention.

"Is it terrible of me to be more excited for Seamus to come back than Dean being here?"

"Well, he's a lovely boy that you seem awfully close with," her mother said carefully.

"He's my best friend."

"Maybe you just don't have the same feelings for Dean anymore," she suggested in a light tone.

"I think you might be right mum," Ginny sighed. "I mean, I'm letting Seamus come to meet Charlie, but I made sure Dean came before he arrived."

"Well it seems your feelings have moved on to another boy," Mrs. Weasley nodded in understanding.

"I don't like Seamus like that mum!" she instantly denied, cheeks burning.

"Oh sorry honey, my mistake," she smiled. Inside she knew it was only a matter of time. She'd be waiting for that day. Seamus was just perfect for her daughter.

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for reading this chapter. :)


	3. Meeting Charlie

**A/N:** Sorry this one's late! I forgot to warn you that I work in a family friend's flower shop during my free time for Valentine's Day! Once Valentine's Day is over I have to plan food and games for a Bridal shower then I'll be back to concentrating on fanfiction. Please bare with me; I shouldn't be gone too much longer!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything you recognize from the Harry Potter series.

* * *

Ginny never claimed to be a patient person. She wasn't terribly impatient either, but she didn't always like having to wait. As a result, when she went to pick up Seamus for his second visit and he ended up taking far too long to get ready, she was not too happy.

"Hurry up Seamus!" she called up the stairs in frustration. "I want to be there when he arrives!"

"I'm coming Gin," he called back hastily. "Just one second."

Having heard a similar response several times already Ginny hollered, "Truth or dare Seamus!"

"Dare," Seamus responded unthinkingly. She smirked.

"I dare you to get down here right now – ready or not!"

There was a silent, brief pause before she heard a door opening somewhere upstairs and footsteps coming down the hallway. When Seamus came in to view she froze, mouth hanging open in shock. Standing before her, walking down the stairs with pink cheeks, was Seamus in nothing but a pair of blue boxers. Ginny's eyes traveled over his body, absently noting that he was in pretty decent shape. Where Dean was tall and skinny; Seamus was shorter and a more attractive and healthy looking weight. She briefly thought it was a shame he wasn't in Ravenclaw because he looked quite good in blue before her thoughts were interrupted.

"Seamus Finnigan!" his mother yelled from where she was standing beside Ginny.

"Sorry mum. She dared me," he said sheepishly looking to his mother.

"That's no excuse!" she scolded. "You could have put some pants on at the very least!"

"She said to come down right now, ready or not. She didn't say make sure you're dressed and get down here."

"Well pardon me for thinking you'd be dressed," Ginny said, blushing and unable to look away. Luckily Seamus was embarrassed enough to keep his eyes averted and didn't notice her staring.

"What else would I be doing that would take so long?"

"I don't know," she huffed, "but go put some clothes on."

"I don't know what to wear," he whined.

"Anything, it doesn't matter." Noticing his reluctance Ginny sighed. "It's hot at home; I'd go for shorts and a light t-shirt or tank top. And ya know," she added with a smirk, "I'd go for a blue shirt if you've got it, the color suits you."

Blushing even harder, Seamus made his way back up to his room and pulled out a pair of Muggle cargo shorts and, taking her advice, a blue tank top, which was the closest he had to match his boxers. He quickly put them on and made his way down the stairs. This time he noticed Ginny's eyes lingering on him and smirked lightly to himself as the moved to Floo to the Burrow.

"Did I miss him?" Ginny asked the second she stepped out of the fireplace.

"Not yet dear," he mother answered, "give him a few more minutes. He never was the perfectly punctual type." She turned to greet Seamus who was just dusting himself off. "Seamus, it's lovely to see you again. Have you been well?"

"Very well thank you," he said politely. "And my mum says thanks for the take homes. They were delicious. She wanted to send something back but I'm afraid she's terrible with baking. She did ask I extend an invitation for dinner before the summer ends though to the whole family."

"How gracious! We'll just have to see if we can arrange that," she smiled warmly back at him. "That color looks wonderful on you by the way," she complimented. Seamus blushed again and Ginny burst out laughing. Mrs. Weasley didn't quite get it, but was sure she never would and let them have their personal moment.

"Well I'm just glad I didn't miss him," Ginny said with a glare to Seamus once she sobered up.

"I tried to hurry! And you delayed me," he defended himself. "Besides, we made it before him anyway."

"I know, but if I missed- CHARLIE!" she cut herself off with an excited scream. Without any more warning she launched herself at him. Having been expecting this exact greeting though, Charlie was more than prepared and deftly caught her up in a hug and swung her around many times, eliciting joyous giggles from her.

"I've missed you so much Gin-bug!" he said squeezing her tighter before setting her down.

"I've missed you too Charlie. Oh! I want you to meet someone!" Charlie raised an eyebrow and finally took notice of the unknown boy in the room. "Charlie, this is Seamus, my absolute best friend."

"Nice to meet you," he greeted looking Seamus over far too critically for Seamus' liking.

"Uh, it's nice to meet you too," Seamus responded tentatively. He wasn't stupid enough not to know what that look meant. "Ginny's told me loads of great stories about you."

"Funny," Charlie replied flippantly, "she's not told me a thing about you."

"Charlie!" his mother admonished. She knew full well that Charlie had read all about Seamus from both Ginny and herself.

"Yes mother?" he grinned innocently. With a shake of her head at his antics she rushed forward to hug her second eldest, rarely home, son.

"Ginny dear, why don't you have Seamus help you take Charlie's things upstairs? I think I'll have a little word with him."

"No problem mum," she smiled. "Come on Seamus, I'll even let you carry the big one!"

"Seriously Gin, you're too kind to me," he said sarcastically but picking up the bag obediently.

"I'm really doing you a favor," she replied looking him over with a mischievous grin. "You need some muscle on those boney arms" She grabbed the smaller bag and ran up the stairs, an indignant Seamus on her trail.

Once they were out of sight an amused Molly Weasley turned to her son. "Aren't they just a lovely pair?"

"Pair?" Charlie repeated with a raised eyebrow. "I thought she just said he was her best friend?"

"Oh he is dear," she nodded. "It's only a matter of time though," she said wisely.

"Maybe they're just really good friends," Charlie suggested, half hoping that really was the case.

"Watch them together and you'll see it too. A mother knows these things. It's only a matter of them admitting it to themselves now. Well, Ginny at least. I'm fairly certain Seamus has admitted it to himself. He's just waiting on her."

"I don't think I like this Seamus bloke."

"Oh Charlie, she can't be baby Ginny forever." Charlie just snorted to show his disagreement.

* * *

"What's wrong?" Ginny asked after noticing Seamus' sullen expression.

"I don't think he likes me very much Gin," Seamus replied dejectedly.

"Nonsense," she said dismissing his comment. "Charlie likes everyone. You've just got to spend some time with him."

"I'm not too sure about that. Did you see the way he was looking at me?"

"He wasn't looking at you any differently than anyone else," she shook her head.

"Deny it all you want Gin, I know what I saw."

"I'll let you have your delusions. Now let's go back, I've barely seen him," she said already out the door. With a feeling of unease about how the day would turn out, Seamus followed her out the door.

"So Charlie," she said entering the kitchen, "what are your plans for your first day back?"

"Well I had planned to spend it with you, but you've got company."

"He's here to meet you. He can hang out with us."

"Fine, let's go out and see the gardens, it's been a while."

Ginny quickly, eagerly, ushered Charlie towards the door, right past Seamus. Seamus didn't miss the triumphant smirk on the other boy's lips. He sighed and followed them out. It was going to be a long day if he couldn't fix this apparent dislike.

"So, Gin, how's that boyfriend you have? Dean it was right?" Charlie asked once they were all settled down.

"Oh," she blushed. "Well, you see, I kind of ended things with him early last week."

"_You what_?" Seamus asked wide-eyed.

"Why Gin?" Charlie asked ignoring Seamus.

"Things just weren't working out. I don't like him anymore."

"Well that's good," Charlie said, looking quickly to Seamus. "No bloke's good enough for my little sister anyway."

"Wait," Seamus said, still stuck on the break up part, "you dumped Dean?"

"Yeah right after his visit."

"Damnit," he muttered under his breath.

"Problem there?" Charlie asked amused.

"Ginny, what did you tell him when you broke up with him?" Seamus pressed.

"Just that my feelings changed" she shrugged, "and we just weren't working well together anymore."

"Oh Gin," he sighed.

"Did I do something wrong?" she asked confused.

"Why didn't you tell me you broke up with him?" Seamus asked with a twinge of desperation in his voice.

"It didn't come up in conversation."

"Well that clears things up a bit."

"Wait," she said suddenly, "what happened?"

"Dean hasn't been responding to my owls for the past week and a half" he explained. "And he ignores my floo calls."

"What's that got to do with me?"

"Come on Gin, _everyone_ knows he was jealous of our friendship. Surely you did too?"

"No," Ginny answered honestly. "I never realized."

"So you're friends with her ex?" Charlie asked, wanting to gain his sister's attention again.

"They're best mates," Ginny explained.

"And he was jealous of your friendship with her but you ignored that?"

"Well he had no reason to be jealous!" Seamus defended. "Besides, I wasn't going to ditch her just because he wasn't happy with the situation. She's my best friend."

"Yeah, at the expense of your other one," Charlie snorted.

"I'm sorry about that Seamus," Ginny said sincerely. "I hadn't realized he would ignore you."

"Its fine Gin, you weren't happy with him so I wouldn't want you to be with him. I just wish I had known earlier so I wasn't spending all my time worrying what I'd done."

"Right, because now you know what you've done," Charlie supplied. He was having a blast painting Seamus in a bad light, and the kid was just making it too easy.

"Hey Gin?" Seamus asked suddenly.

"Yeah?"

"Truth or dare?"

Charlie raised an eyebrow at the unexpected question. He had no idea about the game.

"Dare," Ginny said with a light grin.

"I dare you to go get us some drinks."

"Okay," Ginny said confused thinking that he could have just asked for a drink with out wasting a dare.

"That was rude," Charlie commented once she was out of ear range. "You always make the girl go get your drinks?"

"Look Charlie," Seamus sighed. "I know you don't like me, and I'm not completely certain why, but I think I have a pretty good idea. And I'm not okay with it. Ginny's really important to me and you're really important to her."

"You got that right," he muttered.

"I'd like for you to like me," Seamus went on like he hadn't heard him, "because I plan to be involved in Ginny's life for a very long time. She's told me a bunch about you and it was my own request that led to me being here to meet you. I'd like to be on good terms with you because you're the most important of all her brothers. However, just because you don't like me doesn't mean I'm going to disappear anytime soon. Ginny's my best friend and I'd give up anything for her, but I won't give _her_ up for anything."

Charlie waited a few moments to be sure Seamus was done talking before deciding to respond. "Don't play that best friend crap. You don't want to be her best friend. You were jumping for joy inside that she's single now weren't you? I know how boys your age think and _none_ of you will be good enough for Ginny."

"I'm not just playing _that best friend crap_," Seamus shook his head. "Look, we got really close this past year. I just care about her okay. I'm not trying to take her away from you if that's what you're thinking. I'm perfectly fine with you being the best guy in her life. I'd just really appreciate if you gave me a chance as her friend. It'll just make everything easier."

Charlie narrowed his eyes and was about to respond before he caught sight of Ginny heading back their way. "We'll finish this conversation later."

Seamus nodded and plastered on a smile for Ginny's benefit.

"Mum made that lemonade you said you loved the last time you were here," she grinned, handing a glass over to him. "I brought you one too Charlie." Both boys thanked her and she sat between them again, sipping her own drink. "So what'd I miss?"

"Nothing you need to know about," Seamus grinned at her.

She eyed them both suspiciously for a moment before shrugging, rolling her eyes and muttering, "Boys."

For the rest of the morning Charlie refused to ease up on Seamus. Any chance he got he'd insult Seamus or make sure he knew just who was the better man in this situation. He got a real kick out of watching him bite his tongue when he so blatantly wanted to say something. Charlie made sure he was subtle enough not to let Ginny catch on to all the double meanings in his statements, even though he knew Seamus would catch them all. It was when lunchtime came that his actions finally paid off. He'd just said a particularly demeaning comment when Seamus stood.

"This all looks great Mrs. Weasley," he said apologetically, "but I really should get going home."

"You're leaving already?" Ginny blinked. "I thought you told your mum you were staying through dinner."

"I'm not really feeling too great," he said while Charlie smirked. He gave her a small smile as she started to protest. "You spend the rest of your day with your favorite brother. I can come back over another time if you'd like. Or maybe you can come spend the day at my house even."

She eyed him for a minute before asking, "Truth or dare?"

Charlie raised his eyebrows again at the unexpected question as Seamus groaned and weighed his options. "Dare."

"I dare you to stay," she said automatically.

"Gin, I don't feel well," he started to protest.

"Do you really want to take the consequence?" she spoke up immediately. "You'd be the first since the beginning of the game. That's a long time to go just to face a consequence over feeling a bit under the weather."

He winced slightly thinking of the possibilities of what she could make him do. And she was right, they'd gone this long in the game with neither of them having to face a consequence and he had no plan to be the first one to do it either. "No," he sighed. "No consequence."

"Excellent," she grinned. "You can go lay down in my room for a bit if you'd like and then come join us again when you feel better. Mum's got a bunch of potions if you feel you need one too. She's great at taking care of sick people."

"I had a lot of practice with the whole lot of you," Mrs. Weasley smiled, proud of her daughter's compliment.

"I think I'll be okay with out a potion," he declined.

"Well let's get you up in my room and resting for a bit then before we start in on lunch," she hopped up. "I'll be right back Charlie."

Charlie was not happy as he watched her lead Seamus up the stairs. The last thing he wanted was for that boy to be in his little sister's room, even if she wasn't going to be in it with him. Plus he thought he'd finally got rid of the kid for the day. Now he was stuck with him the whole day again. Apparently he underestimated what his sister felt for the boy. And what was with their stupid "Truth or Dare" crap they randomly played? He didn't like the way they let it influence their actions and he certainly didn't like the idea that it didn't seem to be a new thing for them. It was like some childhood set of laws they abided by – if you're asked that fateful question you had to do it, no matter what. Charlie shook off his thoughts as Ginny came back down the stairs.

"Looks like it's just me and you for a while," she grinned. "Mum's just fussing over him for a bit; you know how she is."

Charlie grinned back and was never more thankful for his mum's nurturing instincts than he was now. He was finally alone with his Gin-bug.

* * *

Once Ginny left the room Mrs. Weasley stopped fretting over Seamus so much and sat at the foot of the bed. "Has Charlie been giving you a terrible time all day?"

He groaned and covered his face with one of his hands. "Is it that obvious that I was just avoiding him?"

"Not to Ginny I don't think dear," she said kindly. "She knows something's wrong other than you being ill, she's not that gullible, but she doesn't think its Charlie. She adores him so she'd never see bad intentions behind his words and actions. Me, on the other hand, well, I know how all my boys can be."

Seamus couldn't help but chuckle at that. "I imagine they were all a handful, especially the twins. My mum said she'd had a tough enough time with me growing up and I was alone."

"Oh no," she smiled, "Percy was always very well behaved." Seamus didn't miss that she made no comment on the other five and laughed again. "So tell me," she sighed, "what's he been saying?"

"Anything he gets a chance to," he muttered.

Mrs. Weasley bristled at the dejected tone in his voice. "Oh that Charlie! You're a fine man dear and Ginny knows that. Don't listen to whatever he's said." She paused and stood, patting his arm as she moved. "I'll just go have a little talk with him."

"No!" Seamus sat up quickly. "I know you're trying to help, but trust me, if he thought I was tattling on him things would just get worse. I might not have a sister, but I get where he's coming from. So for my sake, please pretend you don't know what's going on?"

She frowned, clearly not liking the idea of not getting involved, but nodded. "Something can be said for a man who takes charge and handles his dilemmas himself."

"If I don't handle it alone I'll never win his respect," he said simply and Mrs. Weasley beamed at his sudden determination.

"Take a nap or something dear and come down in a bit." She smiled a humored smile. "Wouldn't want them thinking you weren't really ill or anything. I'll tell them you'll be along in an hour or so?"

"Thanks Mrs. Weasley," he said gratefully. "And not just for telling them I'm napping you know."

"I do know," she nodded. "And you're very welcome Seamus."

* * *

When Seamus returned downstairs, roughly an hour and a half later, he was surprised to find Ron, Fred and George seated around the table as Mrs. Weasley fussed over feeding them enough lunch. It wasn't that he didn't _know_ this was their house - he wasn't stupid - but the last time he'd been here Ginny had successfully kept him away from her brothers. Apparently he'd just overlooked the fact that he very well might run into them here. He watched from the door for a moment as they ate and talked before walking into the room.

"Where've you lot been hiding out all day?" he asked as way of greeting.

"Seamus? What are you doing here?" Ron asked, confused, around a mouthful of food.

"Do you pay any attention when I talk dear?" Mrs. Weasley sighed. "I told you when you ate breakfast that Ginny was having him over again today."

"I know that mum," he rolled his eyes; swallowing so he could speak more clearly. "But I just saw Ginny and Charlie and he wasn't there."

"I was taking a nap in your sister's room," Seamus told him, smiling at Mrs. Weasley as she set a plate of food for him next to Ron. "Thank you. This looks delicious."

"I figured since you missed lunch I'd better save you a plate," she smiled back. "Can't have you going with out food till dinner comes 'round. Arthur may be working late again and we might be eating later than usual. So eat up!"

Seamus was happy to oblige and soon found himself being pulled into conversation with his tablemates. Fred and George teased him good naturedly about having been in his sister's room and he teased back, being careful not to cross any lines to anger the boys. Ron roped him into agreeing to a game of Exploding Snap after lunch - since he was personally rather lousy at chess. By the time he was done with his plate of food he felt back at ease in the Weasley family home and his worries about Charlie were forgotten. _These _brothers liked him. _These _brothers were his friends. Following Ron's lead he refilled his plate and asked the twins how their inventions were coming. Two plates and three games later the sound of the kitchen door slamming shut drifted to their ears. Seamus looked up from his seat in the sitting room and saw an irate Ginny and smiling Charlie making their way over.

"Seamus Finnigan!" she said sharply, putting her hands on her hips as she came to a halt beside him and her brothers. "I thought you were here visiting with _me_ today, not my brothers."

Seamus wanted to point out that he was visiting with her brother as well, just not one of the ones he was currently with, but decided against it as he looked up at an amused Charlie. "Sorry love," he grinned sheepishly. "Your mum made me a plate when I came down and I got caught up with this lot."

Her eyes swept over each of her brothers coolly before landing back on him. "Next time we hang out I think I'd like to go to your house."

He held back his smirk as he nodded. "Mum would like that."

"It's settled then," she said firmly. "I'm coming over."

Seamus allowed his smirk to take place now as he nodded and excused himself from his game with Ron and the twins. Feeling much more confident than he'd been before he sent a relatively cocky look to Charlie before asking Ginny, "so what are we doing now?"

* * *

Ginny was disappointed when it was time for Seamus to go home that night. She knew logically she'd spent the majority of the day with him, but she still felt like it had been no time at all. Having Charlie there had taken away from her time with Seamus and really left him more as a third wheel to a family bonding day. She felt guilty that she hadn't paid him as much attention as she should have and wondered if that had had anything to do with his supposed illness at lunchtime. Now they were in the kitchen, Seamus getting ready to floo home for the night, when she felt she had to bring it up.

"Hey Seamus?" she asked tentatively.

"Yeah?" he asked, drawing his eyes from the ground to her face.

"Earlier, when you said you were sick-"

"I really don't want to talk about it Gin," he interrupted her before she could go on. He reached up to scratch the back of his neck and Ginny frowned at his avoidance. "Can't we just leave it at I wasn't feeling well?"

"But that's not what was wrong," she told him.

"Ginny, just leave it."

"Let me just say this and I will," she offered. He nodded slowly and she went on. "I think I know why you wanted to go home and I'm sorry. It's my fault really. I should have known better than to invite you on Charlie's first day back. Tomorrow would have been a better choice. I didn't mean to practically ignore you all day. My last intention was to make you feel left out. I'm sorry I did."

"What," he shook his head, "that's not it at all. You didn't ignore me and I didn't feel one bit left out."

"Then what was wrong?" she asked confused.

"I just didn't feel good," he shrugged.

"Okay," she nodded. "As long as you know I don't actually believe that answer, I'll accept it."

"Alright," he laughed. "I can settle for that. Guess it's a good thing it's my turn to ask and not yours or I just may be suckered into telling you."

She grinned back, "That's not a bad idea."

"I really prefer you didn't ask, but I can't stop you if you do."

She looked him over and, for the first time in the conversation, realized how uncomfortable and serious he looked. She hadn't seen him this way in a long time and she silently promised herself she'd never ask him about it no matter how bad she wanted to know. He'd tell her when he was ready, but she would not push.

"So Harry and Hermione come in two days," she told him instead.

"Sounds like a good time," he said, giving her a thankful smile for the subject change.

"Yeah," she shrugged. "Ron will probably keep them all to himself for most of the day."

"Must run in the family," Seamus commented.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she wrinkled her nose in confusion.

"Oh, only that you keep me so far from your brothers when I'm here I was actually _surprised_ to see them today."

She laughed. "Well, you're friends with them too and you're just so brilliant I want to keep you all to myself."

Seamus smirked, "I am pretty brilliant aren't I?"

"Go home before your head gets bigger," she joked, giving him a light shove.

He laughed as he reached up into the small flowerpot on the mantle for a bit of Floo Powder. Before he threw it in he turned back to her. "You can come over that day if you want - keep you from getting annoyed at being left out."

"Okay," she smiled, "as long as your mom doesn't mind."

"I'm sure she won't mind," he nodded, "but I'll owl you and let you know what she says." He turned back and threw the powder in the flames, watching them turn the familiar vibrant green. Just before he stepped in he looked over his shoulder and softly told her, "sweet dreams." With a wink he stepped in and was gone, leaving a grinning Ginny in his wake.


	4. The Finnigans

**A/N:** Here's chapter four. Expect chapter five in a week or two (at the lastest).

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything you recognize from the Harry Potter series.

* * *

Mrs. Finnigan had welcomed her so warmly the morning of her arrival that Ginny felt she could now understand how overwhelming her own mother was to an outsider. Seamus assured her, however, that his mother wasn't normally so exuberant and really it was a compliment to receive such a welcome. She laughed it off, but inside she was pleased his mother liked her so much. When she had been over to pick him up days before Mrs. Finnigan had smiled kindly and made pleasant conversation in the short visit, but that had been about the extent of it. She had no idea what had changed the woman's reaction to her between then and now, but she was thankful for it. Seamus had talked her into coming to stay for the whole day and now she truly didn't feel like she'd be overstaying her welcome in doing so.

"So just what is it that Seamus Finnigan does when he hangs out around his house?" she asked teasingly. "I'm guessing your lazy arse does a whole lot of nothing."

"Hardy har," Seamus rolled his eyes. "It just so happens I do a lot around here. And since just about all my chores are done I can start right off with the fun stuff."

"You do chores," she raised an eyebrow. "How does your mum get you to agree to that? Merlin knows you don't even keep your part of the dorm clean at school."

"You gotta do what mum says. She's a real witch," he winked, grinning at her as if he was the single most comedic person on the planet. Receiving only a pity laugh from her, he answered more seriously. "I happen to help my mum around the house all the time actually. That's how I get both my allowance and to spend time with her."

Ginny smiled at the sincerity of his answer. She had been about to tease him at the allowance comment, but the smile he gave while mentioning the time it allowed him to spend with his mom stopped any remarks. Instead she linked her arm through his and led him down the hall as if it were her house and not his. "Let's stat with a tour yeah?"

The further the tour went the more in love she fell with his home. She'd only seen two rooms in his house in her short visit the other day and she loved the new stuff she discovered as they went. Though most rooms hosted a number of magical items she recognized from her own home, it was brimming with muggle things she'd never seen before as well. She'd forgotten that Seamus's dad was a muggle and, in turn, lived and functioned with things Seamus and his mum had no need for. She'd actually laughed in wonder at the odd site of his dad's computer with the keypad and mouse. When Seamus turned it on and showed her a little of how to use it she immediately decided she wanted to live in a muggle house when she moved out so she could have her very own functioning computer among other things. She couldn't wait to tell her dad all about it.

Several hours later found the two teens walking around the town Seamus lived in with a plastic shopping bag, Seamus having decided quite suddenly that Ginny must experience some of his favorite muggle things. He'd declared as much and, patting his pocket to ensure he had his muggle money on him, dragged her out the door with a quick "We're going to town for a bit!" for his mother's benefit. Ginny protested as his armful of intended purchases grew bigger, but Seamus was quick to use his truth or dare question to silence her.

"This next one is just the best," Seamus smiled fondly as he dug through the bag on his arm. "Mum sends me this when she really starts to miss me."

Ginny couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her as she saw the object in his hand. She'd been expecting another sweet treat, as nearly all of Seamus' favorite muggle things had so far been some sort of candy, but instead she found herself staring at a small round object. "A ball Seamus?" she laughed. "Really?"

"Really," he nodded. "It's just a bouncy rubber ball, but I know when I get one that mum's missing me exceptionally much."

"And how exactly did a ball become this grand symbol?" Ginny asked, amused.

"I used to play with these all the time when I was little," he smiled fondly as he bounced the ball of the ground and caught it. "It drove mum nutters having to hear it bouncing off of everything all the time, but she knew how much I loved playing with them so she never stopped me."

"So she sends you them at school so you can annoy people there instead?" Ginny raised an eyebrow.

"No, that's not why she sends them," he laughed. "When the first one came the letter said something along the lines of she missed me so much that she'd take the noise of a million bouncing balls if it meant I'd be back in the house to see her."

Ginny smiled. "That's sweet. She really must have missed you."

"Yeah," Seamus smiled back. "We're pretty close. But now whenever she starts to miss me she sends me a ball. I don't even get a letter most of the time anymore. She just sends the ball and I know what it means."

"Mum sends me letters so much I don't think she has time to miss me," she laughed lightly. "We're close too since, you know, I'm the baby girl and all that."

Seamus nodded. "I'm the only one so mum's got to be close to me. There's no other option."

"So really you're like the last resort?" Ginny teased. "She's close with you or she gets a pet?"

"Exactly," Seamus laughed. "I was the clear winner."

"I don't know," Ginny tilted her head in thought. "Pets don't leave to go to school. And they don't talk back."

"But they don't talk at all," Seamus reasoned. "What kind of company is that? And haven't you heard that absence makes the heart grow fonder?"

"Funny," Ginny smirked. "I was thinking it was enjoyable not to be bothered by you every day."

"Hilarious Gin," he rolled his eyes. "We both know you love me though so I'll ignore that."

Ginny, feeling very put out at his brush off, decided not to answer. Instead she stole the ball from his hands and threw it hard at the ground, laughing as it bounced away. Seamus let out an indignant "Hey!" and chased after it.

* * *

Dinner wasn't expected to be ready for another half an hour so when Seamus heard his name called, summoning him to the kitchen, he had a moment of panic. Ginny raised a questioning eyebrow at his expression.

"Have you been misbehaving?"

He rolled his eyes. Her tone made him quickly realize he was overreacting - as one was prone to do when he usually was in trouble for misbehaving - and he relaxed. "She probably just needs help with something. You'll be alright on your own for a minute?"

She looked to him in mock terror. "You're going to leave me all alone in this big scary room?" she asked dramatically. "And here I thought you loved me! How could you?"

Shaking his head at her antics he stood and left. She sat watching him go with an easy grin on her face. They hadn't been doing anything in particular, just sitting around and talking, or, more accurately, playing truth or dare. Now, with the lack of conversation, she took the time to observe the room. It wasn't quite as cozy as her house's sitting room - she doubted anyone's really was - but there was something comfortable about the room either way. It was more or less filled with muggle things and that had been precisely why she'd wanted to sit in there instead of on the garden bench they'd begun on. There were far less personal touches around the room than at her house.

There were only three pictures around the room - still ones, muggle ones. Each one was portrait sized and hung on the wall opposite the couch. The first was of Seamus. If she had to date it she'd say it was two or three years ago, as he still looked rather young. He wore his trademark boyish grin and his eyes sparkled with amusement. She could easily understand why his parents had chosen the shot; it captured him perfectly. The next picture hosted Seamus, his mom and who she could only assume was his dad. Seamus sat with a parent standing behind him on either side, their hands resting on his shoulders affectionately and the three wore big smiles. The last was of just his parents and she smiled happily at it; they looked so in love. They were facing the camera, but instead of looking at it both sets of eyes were drawn sideways towards each other. She couldn't help but notice the comparisons to a certain picture of her parents back home on the mantle. Other than the pictures the room was furnished like a picture straight out of her Muggle Studies book. She got the impression this was the room they used to entertain muggle company in; it was both comfortable and formal.

The sound of someone clearing their throat startled her and she looked up to find the man from the pictures, Mr. Finnigan she presumed, watching her. He was standing practically in front of her and she flushed in embarrassment at her lack of notice. It was obvious he'd been standing there for several moments while she'd just stared about the room.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't notice you there."

"No I didn't think you did," he smiled in return. He reached out a hand for her to shake and introduced himself. "I'm Seamus' dad. You must be the wonderful Ginny I've heard so much about."

She grinned and took his hand, happy to meet him finally. "I'm not sure I'm so wonderful, but I'm certainly Ginny."

He chuckled. "Ah, I sense of humor. No wonder my boy speaks so highly of you."

"It's nice to meet you Mr. Finnigan," she said, not entirely certain how to respond to his comment.

"You as well," he nodded. "Now enough with the formalities, may I join you on the couch?"

"It is your couch," she raised an eyebrow. She scooted farther to one side, as her and Seamus had been sitting together in the middle, and he sat on the other half. "You have a nice home," she told him earnestly. "My family's all magic so it was like an adventure to see some of your things. I think I may have fallen in love with your computer."

"Quite the same impression I had when discovering magical things," he laughed. "It's a strange thing, learning about a whole new lifestyle. I'm afraid I'm still caught off guard by it all sometimes even after all these years."

"That's the fun of it though isn't it?" Ginny asked. "There's always something more to learn, something more to know."

"That there is," he agreed. "But I did not come to talk to you of such trivial things. Now tell me, what kind of mischief has my son been getting into at school?"

If it had been said any other way Ginny would have felt very offended at having been asked such a question. However, Mr. Finnigan had a twinkle in his eyes to rival Seamus' most mischievous moments and his tone reminded her greatly of her own father, who was always more curious for a good story than to actually scold and punish them for their actions. "You expect me to tattle on my best friend?" Ginny laughed freely. "I assure you, you'll get no answers from me. I'd only get myself in as much trouble."

"You can't blame a father for trying," he answered amused. "Seamus will only relent to tell me so many stories."

"Don't let him fool you," Seamus spoke up, walking around the couch and sitting between them. "I stopped telling him stories because there were so few left to tell. Insatiable curiosity for mischief dad's got."

"And yet I know you hold back from me," Mr. Finnigan frowned.

Seamus laughed and shook his head. "Mum's looking for you."

"You do so ruin my fun," he stood, sighing as he did so. "It was a pleasure meeting you Ginny. You're staying for dinner I presume?"

"I am," she nodded. He grinned widely at her.

"I shall see you at the table then and we'll continue our delightful getting to know of one another."

They watched him leave the room before Seamus turned and raised an eyebrow at Ginny. "What did you say to my father?"

"Not very much," she shrugged. "He was only here for a handful of minutes."

"You must have made an impression," Seamus told her. "He's rarely so carefree with new people. If I remember correctly it took a few visits before he loosened up to Dean."

"What can I say," Ginny batted her lashes playfully, "I'm just so charming."

Seamus snorted. "Charming you certainly are."

"Besides, he already seemed to have an impression set of me," she told him teasingly. "I hear you speak of me?"

"No more than you speak of me to your family," he teased back. "I swear I was running out of things to talk about with your dad as he seemed to know so much regarding me already."

"What can I say," she smirked. "Mum's very fond of you."

"No doubt she is," he nodded. "We're good friends me and your mum. I'm considering replacing you with her. You wouldn't mind too much would you?"

She laughed off his comments. "I take it by your good mood you're not in any sort of trouble?"

"She just wanted me to set the table."

"Oh, I wish I'd have known. I would have helped."

"Which is exactly why she called me alone into the kitchen and not you as well," he told her. "You are a guest here. Besides, she used the time to make sure I thought you were enjoying yourself here. You are, right?"

"Absolutely."

"Good," he nodded once, "that's what I told her. I'm glad you like it here."

"I have a good time whenever I'm with you Seamus. As long as you're not being a prat we always get on spectacularly."

"I'd hardly say I've ever been a prat," Seamus rolled his eyes.

"I feel you're forgetting the lake incident?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Will you never forget that?" he asked exasperated. "I've apologized over and over."

"You have," she agreed. "But I won't forget it. Someone has to remind you of your bad qualities instead of just your good all the time."

"I'd hardly call that a bad quality," he told her. "I was in a perfectly horrid mood and you should not have interrupted me."

"And you should have calmed down instead of throwing my books in the lake," she shrugged. "We all make the wrong choices sometimes."

"I replaced your books," he muttered.

"So you did," she relented. "But I still feel you need to be reminded of it all on occasion. We can't have you always thinking you're so wonderful."

"Says the girl who claims she's just so charming."

"Oh Seamus," she laughed. "Don't be moody. It doesn't suit you."

He rolled his eyes but eventually gave in with a small grin. He never was able to stay mad at her for long. "So where were we before we were interrupted?" he asked. "I believe you owed me an answer?"

"I did," she nodded. "And my answer is this: orange."

"Orange," he repeated, raising an eyebrow in question.

"That's what I said."

"Wasn't the question what something was that annoyed you?"

"Yes."

"And you said orange?"

"We've established that I answered orange, yes."

"Would you care to explain that one to me?"

"Orange just annoys me," she shrugged. "I don't like that it's both a color and a fruit. You don't call a lemon yellow do you? So how come you call an orange by its color? Or a color by its fruit? Why is an orange so special?"

Seamus laughed. "I've never thought about it."

"Well now you will and you'll see I'm right," Ginny nodded wisely. "It's just silly."

"I suppose it is, but then, what else would you call either the color or the fruit?"

Ginny pondered the question in silence. Before she got a chance to come up with an answer Mr. Finnigan was sticking his head in the room to announce dinner was ready. Seamus stood and held a hand out to her, pulling her to her feet easily and she looked up to answer him. "I will have to relent to call both orange," she said simply, not wanting to dwell on the invention of a new name. "They are what they are. However, that makes them no less of an annoyance to me."

When they sat for dinner – Seamus and Ginny across from each other with Mr. and Mrs. Finnigan on either end of the table – Seamus was happy to watch his parents interact so kindly with Ginny. It wasn't that his parents weren't welcoming when they had guests, but he knew when it came to his friends they would have no qualms treating dinner as a largely silent affair unless they liked Ginny – or at least letting Seamus and her run the flow of conversation and just listening politely with minimal input. Even though he'd warned them time and again that this was his best friend coming over and he'd appreciate them making an effort to welcome her, he hadn't actually expected it to happen. They were just quiet folks and, as Seamus had told them so much about her already, he was expecting it to be difficult for them to find a nice basis for discussion. He was wrong.

"Now Ginny," Mr. Finnigan began, loading his plate with steamed vegetables, "I understand you play this Quidditch game that Seamus and Karen go on about yes?"

"I do," she nodded proudly. "I play for our house team at school. I'm a chaser."

"I hear you're a very talented flyer," he commented. "Seamus was going on about it one day. Not that I wasn't delighted to hear of course."

Ginny raised an eyebrow at Seamus, who blushed and mentally scolded his father. He was making it sound like all Seamus ever did was talk about Ginny.

"I'm not half bad," Ginny responded modestly. "I've grown up watching my brothers all fly. It's only fair I learned a few tricks."

"Good for you," Mrs. Finnigan smiled. "Merlin knows I could hardly work my way around a broomstick when I was your age."

"You still can't now mum," Seamus pointed out.

"So true," she sighed. "But it hasn't damped my love for Quidditch. I simply became an avid fan."

"Naturally," Ginny stated. "It's in our family though. Three of my brothers who've pasted through Hogwarts have played on the team. Plus there's Ron who's on the team with me this year."

"Four brothers," Mr. Finnigan whistled. "What a house full."

"Six actually," she corrected with a grin. "All older – family gatherings are very crowded."

"Six brothers," he repeated, amazed. He turned to Mrs. Finnigan. "We'll have to get both table inserts out when they come for dinner."

"Well Bill and Percy don't live at home anymore," Ginny explained. "And Charlie's only home through the week."

"Which leaves Fred, George and Ron," Seamus summed up. "You'll love Fred and George, dad. They're infamous pranksters."

"I can't wait," he smiled excitedly.

"Oh," Seamus blinked suddenly remembering. "They have house two guests through summer though."

"I forgot all about them," Ginny mumbled, looking distressed at the thought.

"Harry and Hermione," Seamus nodded. "You met them both mum, at the World Cup?"

"Of course I know who they are," she shook her head like he was silly to even question the fact. "They'll be welcomed too naturally."

"So we're back to needing both table inserts," Mr. Finnigan nodded decidedly, anticipation shining clearly on his face. "It'll be nice to get the full use out of the table. We've never had it extended fully before."

Ginny laughed. "I hope you know what you're getting yourselves into."

Seamus nodded. "You've got a lot of cooking ahead of you mum. Ron rivals me in eating a lot of food."

"In other words I should prepare a small feast?" she laughed, raising an eyebrow.

* * *

The Weasley family, plus Harry and Hermione, invaded the Finnigans' home that Saturday night - after Seamus had been sent to set a date the two families agreed with. The twins had immediately taken to Mr. Finnigan, being ushered out of the room while they entertained him with tales and tricks. Mrs. Weasley, who'd arrived with an expected tray of desserts, accompanied Mrs. Finnigan to the kitchen talking pleasantly and offering any help she could provide. Ron, Harry and Hermione had followed Ginny as she lead Mr. Weasley through to the sitting room, having expressed immediate interest in showing her father the television she'd been watching just days before. That left Charlie, who was staying with his family until the next evening, and Seamus uncomfortably alone in the family room that received the floo.

"I've been doing some thinking," Charlie spoke up suddenly.

Seamus looked up to him, startled and suspicious, "About anything interesting?"

"I'm sure you know just what about," Charlie smirked.

"Ahh," Seamus nodded, "it's time to finish that conversation isn't it?"

"Yes and no," he answered unhelpfully. "May we sit?"

"Yes, sorry," Seamus shook his head, "forgot my manners. Have a seat, please."

Charlie settled himself on one end of the only couch in the room, Seamus sitting on the opposite end. "As I said, I've been doing some thinking," Charlie began slowly. "I may have over reacted to you the other day."

Seamus was smart enough not to nod in agreement, instead settling for a shrug. "You're very protective of her. I can't hold that against you."

"And yet you dislike me simply for that reason," he said simply, "As I dislike you for the same."

"I don't dislike you," Seamus shook his head. "Do I think it's annoying how you didn't give me a chance and verbally attacked me all day? Absolutely, but that doesn't mean I don't like you."

"Well I disliked you," Charlie shrugged.

"I didn't notice," Seamus responded dryly.

"Just telling it like it is."

"I can handle that."

"Anyway," he pushed on. "I over reacted. I still don't believe that best friend crap you're playing at, and, for the record, I do know its crap, but I was being unnecessarily difficult."

Seamus started to shake his head. "There is no best friend crap. She is my best friend."

"I'll relent," Charlie nodded. "She may be your best friend, as I'm grudgingly certain now you're hers, but I stand by the fact that you don't want to just be her best friend. So don't play that crap with me."

"Where are we going with this?" Seamus sighed. He knew there was no use refuting the fact. He would just look foolish now if he kept up his denial. He cared for Ginny more than any best friend he'd ever had before.

"I want to call a truce, of sorts."

"Call a truce?" Seamus raised an eyebrow. "You do realize that a truce takes place between two attacking sides. I'm not attacking."

"Don't get technical with me," Charlie narrowed his gaze. "Do you want me to back off or not?"

"It would be appreciated."

"Then a truce. I stop attacking. You don't make a move on my sister."

"So that's what this is about," Seamus said in understanding. "You're still afraid I'm going to move in and steal her away."

"Yes and no," Charlie answered cautiously. "It's so much more than that."

"Charlie," Seamus spoke seriously. "I know how important you are to Ginny. Nothing is going to change that and I would never try either. She has her own place for me in her heart; right along side all her family, Harry and Hermione and I'm happy there. Your place is the biggest, most prominent. I'm not a threat."

Charlie nodded stiffly. "I still don't want you to make a move though."

Seamus sighed, shaking his head sadly. "I can't promise I never will."

"For someone who so adamantly claims to be her best friend I'd think it'd be easy." Charlie snorted and, though he may have sounded amused, one look at his appearance would tell you he clearly was not.

"What do you want me to tell you?" Seamus asked, getting worked up. "I can't say I won't make a move ever. I can't say I will either though. I don't doubt that you know my feelings, however well I've tried not to let them surface at all. If I could have a chance with her, if she ended up feeling the same, how could I not do something? She could feel nothing though. This could be totally one sided. I can't promise you anything."

Charlie stared at him for several intense moments. Seamus wasn't sure what was going through the other man's head and felt decidedly uncomfortable. He'd just admitted to having feelings for Ginny, something he had barely even wanted to admit to himself for so long. And now the one person whose opinion would matter most, who could spoil any chance he may ever have with the right words, was studying him, a battle clearly raging in his eyes. Seamus wasn't sure what he was debating about, but he knew, with out a doubt, that the outcome could change everything.

"Fine," Charlie finally responded. With nothing more he stood and left the room. Seamus stared after him, not sure where they'd landed and anxious about how the evening would progress.

When the night was finally over and Seamus was safely encompassed in the privacy and darkness of his bedroom he let out a long sigh of relief. The night had not turned out as disastrous as he'd expected. Charlie had made no attacks, though if it was because he accepted Seamus' confession as enough for the proposed truce or if he simply knew he had less chance of getting away with them in the large crowd Seamus couldn't be sure. All he knew for sure was that everyone else had enjoyed themselves. His dad was absolutely delighted with Fred and George and they were more than pleased to provide him with entertainment. Ginny, who was the last of the guests to leave, had beamed at him, telling him how well it went and that she had had a great time. Seamus had smiled back at her, saying he was glad. They had talked for a few minutes before a big yawn escaped Seamus and Ginny laughed, grabbing her stuff to leave with a promise to write soon.

He was aware he very possibly wouldn't see her again until they were boarding the Hogwarts Express. They still had just over a month before school started again, but Seamus always spent one week of his summer holidays away visiting his grandparents and then one week doing something different with his dad. If he wanted to get more time in with his mum as well he simply wouldn't have much time to go visit again. He had to remind himself that he would see her nearly the whole year and that a month was hardly a big deal when compared to that. He groaned and turned over in bed. It was going to be a long month.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry if Charlie trying to call a truce seemed odd to some of you, but I have reasons. Next chapter we head back to Hogwarts!


	5. Back To Hogwarts

**A/N:** Two weeks exactly since the last update. I was trying to get this out yesterday, but a different story was tugging at my mind the whole time and I caved to that. It's here now though and I hope you like it.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything you recognize from the Harry Potter series.

* * *

Ginny looked around expectantly as she stepped away from the barrier and onto Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Seamus had assured her he'd be there before her, as her family had a tendency to run behind, and that he'd secure them a compartment and come back to wait for her and help with her things. Though they'd written, she hadn't seen him for about a month and she was excited to reunite with him. When she didn't find him on her first scan through the crowd she frowned but ventured toward the train regardless. Her brother had just disappeared with Harry and Hermione when her mother let out a delighted greeting.

"Seamus! I was so hoping I'd see you before the train took off."

Ginny turned and saw Seamus approaching from the right, his mum trailing behind while her own opened her arms expectantly for a hug. Seamus smiled as he stepped into her hug and returned the greetings.

"I couldn't very well take off with out saying goodbye could I?" he raised an eyebrow as he stepped back from the hug. He turned to Ginny, grinning wider. "I stashed my stuff further up," he told her, nodding his head towards where he'd come from. "Dean, Lavender and Parvati are in there too."

"Great," Ginny smiled back, though inside she was anxious. She hadn't heard from Dean since the break up and seeing him now would no doubt be a little uncomfortable. She just hoped that it wouldn't result in tense, awkward silences.

"Are you all set to go back and leave the fun of summer behind Ginny?" asked Mrs. Finnigan, no doubt feeling it was only proper to great Ginny since her mum had greeted Seamus.

"As ready as can be," she nodded. "Of course, I'm not leaving the fun behind, just the summer."

Mrs. Finnigan laughed lightly. "Oh I don't doubt that. Jack expects to hear from you soon."

Ginny grinned at the reminder. Mr. Finnigan had insisted to hear about the best stories of mischief right away, not wanting to wait until whenever Seamus got around to sharing with him. "I promise Seamus and I will write before long."

"Now don't go getting into trouble," Mrs. Weasley warned. "I've gotten so few owls since Fred and George left school and I'd wish to keep it that way."

"No worries," Seamus chuckled. "We never get up to anything too wicked."

"Yet," Ginny added quietly. Seamus, the only one who'd heard her, sent a wink her way and she smirked back.

"Should we get you on the train then?" Seamus asked. "We've only five minutes until departure."

"I guess it _is_ time," she sighed. Goodbyes were exchanged quickly, feeling the press for time as it would take nearly all five minutes to get properly settled on the train. With promises to write the pair was off, leaving their mums behind to converse and depart. Seamus led her to the entrance nearest their compartment and, grabbing her trunk for her, they boarded the train.

Once her trunk was securely stored Ginny had no choice but to sit down and acknowledge everyone. She greeted Lavender and Parvati first, who were friendly but short with their replies and she realized they were waiting to see if any drama would unfold between her and Dean, undoubtedly having heard about the break up. With no other option she turned to him.

"Hi Dean," she said with a small, unsure smile.

"Hey," he replied, sounding neither friendly nor angry. If she had to place it she'd say he sounded cautious. She took that as a sign to go on.

"It's good to see you," she ventured.

He sighed, rolled his eyes and nodded. "Good to see you too."

Encouraged by the almost playful gestures she continued, hoping this really meant that they weren't going to go through that awkward post-break up stage since the time had already passed. "I trust the rest of your summer went well?"

"As much as can be expected," he nodded. "Traveled a little, got a little crazy, eventually spent some time with Seamus."

Seamus nodded. "Took a few more weeks before I finally heard back from him, but we spent our usual summer days together."

Lavender and Parvati, sensing that nothing was amiss picked up their own conversation, leaving Dean, Seamus and Ginny to talk between them selves. Though they avoided anything that would lead to the topic of the break up, Ginny was happy to find that conversation could carry on as normal as expected. Dean seemed to have worked through his anger with Seamus some time over the summer and they were as close as before again. This warmed Ginny's heart, as she hated the idea that she was responsible for the rift in their friendship. Honestly, she'd thought it was silly of Dean to be jealous of Seamus and her friendship. It wasn't as if it was affecting _their_ friendship at all. Dean and Seamus had a bond that went deeper than any she and Seamus had created. They'd been best mates since first year and ultimately grew to be who they were now together. She didn't want to be the one to change that.

When they reached Hogsmeade Station and started filing out to fill carriages Dean laid a hand on her arm. "Ginny," he asked tentatively, "would you mind hanging back for a minute with me?"

Feeling slightly uneasy, she nodded her head. She turned to tell Seamus to save them seats at dinner and he caught her eye with a questioning look. She mouthed 'its fine' and, with a reassuring smile, turned away from him. Dean stepped away from the crowd a few feet and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Look," he sighed, getting straight to it, "I just think we need to settle anything before we start the year off on the wrong foot."

"Makes sense," she nodded.

"Things have the possibility of getting very awkward. I'd obviously like to be friends still or I wouldn't even be talking to you."

"I'd like that too," she smiled.

"Good," he nodded. "I just don't want you to be thinking that I'm hung up on you or anything."

"Okay," she said slowly, not sure how she was meant to take that.

"It's not that I'm trying to say you mean nothing to me," he quickly clarified.

"Okay," she repeated. She wasn't sure if he was trying to say he had feelings for her still but he wouldn't let them get in the way of their friendship or that he didn't have any feelings any more and that's why they wouldn't get in the way. She didn't want to assume either way and be wrong.

"Oh, Merlin," Dean breathed. He ran his hands over his face and tried again, sounding very flustered. "I still care about you, but I don't have _those_ kinds of feelings anymore."

"Okay," she nodded, feeling much better now that she understood.

"It's just-" he started, obviously thinking she still wasn't getting it because of her similar reply. "I knew the end was coming long before it did. I tried to pretend that it wasn't getting nearer and nearer, but it was. I started to get over you when I knew I was starting to lose you. And being angry at you or Seamus for any of it is pointless."

"Just so you know," she told him, "my friendship with Seamus had nothing to do with me deciding to break up with you. My mum says it's natural at our age for our feelings to sometimes fade; she says that since we're still growing and changing, our feelings are as well. They just don't always grow the way you want them to."

"That makes sense," he said slowly. "I think."

Ginny laughed. "If you heard the whole motherly lecture on evolving feelings you'd understand, but I wouldn't put you through that so you'll just have to trust me."

"Will do," he grinned. "Want to know where my lecture came from?"

"Sure," she laughed lightly, finding it odd they were talking so easily about this.

"It was this girl I know, she's my sister's friend's sister. I went to drop Ashlynn off at her house and she asked me "what the bloody hell's got you so grumpy?" For some reason I answered her and you know what she told me? She told me I was being a right prat for not talking to Seamus. She asked me how I would feel if I lost my best mate because I was close with someone else. It wasn't long after that that I finally wrote back to him."

"I don't know how you'd feel," Ginny told him, feeling like she had to defend Seamus, "but Seamus wasn't quite happy with it at all. I didn't tell him we broke up, you know. I didn't know you'd stopped talking to him so I thought you would have told him. When he heard me telling my brother about it he nearly had a fit. He had no idea I'd broken up with you – said he spent the past week or two trying to figure out what he'd done to anger you."

Dean looked a little guilty but shrugged, "I had some misconceptions about the situation. He doesn't hold it against me now."

"He's a good friend to you," she told him. "To be honest, if it weren't for him I probably wouldn't even have thought to invite you over this summer."

"Glad to know I was on your mind," he smiled dryly.

"I'm just being honest," she told him. "I wrote to you and everything like last summer before we got together, but I wouldn't have invited you over if it weren't for him. He looks out for you, you know."

"I know he does," Dean nodded. "I try to look out for him too."

"Good," Ginny nodded back.

"We're getting far from my point though."

"Sorry, what was the point you were aiming for?"

"I do still care for you Ginny, but I'm not going to be jealous and moody like I was last year. Whatever happens between Seamus and you happens. I won't try to have a say."

Ginny blinked. "That's what this is about?"

"I just didn't want you to worry about offending me or whatever."

"Well, nothing more is going to happen between Seamus and me than already has. I don't like Seamus and Seamus does not like me," she told him, her tone firm and prompt. "So you've nothing to worry about there."

Dean raised a disbelieving eyebrow but didn't push the matter. "Okay," he said simply. "Then I guess my point is that you don't have to worry about any lingering feelings I may have for you getting in the way of our possible friendship. I was afraid they might," he said honestly, "no matter how much I said I was over it this summer. Once I saw you though I knew we'd manage the just friends thing. So there you go, that's my point."

"Great," she smiled, happy with his comfort in telling her the truth. "Then how about we grab a carriage, walk in the castle and start this year off as friends?"

"Sounds great Gin," he grinned.

As promised Seamus had made sure to save seats for the pair of them. He was anxious to find out how their talk went. He watched them as they walked past all the other tables laughing and took seats across from each other with a rush of relief. Things were going to be okay for them this year. He knew they both wanted to try to be friends still, but he had been afraid something would happen to make that impossible and he'd be forced to split his time between the both of them. It was easy having two best friends when they were friends as well, but he imagined having two best friends who were not friends would be rather difficult.

If he were to be honest there was a small fear inside him that they would suddenly make up and decide to get back together. He _knew_ it wasn't going to happen, but he still feared it. Ever since he'd all but told Charlie that he loved Ginny last month his mind feared the stupidest things. He knew Ginny wasn't going to get back with Dean; she's not flip-floppy with her feelings. He knew she wasn't suddenly going to fall in love with Harry, especially not while Ron and Hermione were around to keep him occupied. He knew she wasn't going to wake up one morning and decide she hated him. And yet he found these were all among the things he feared. He even worried while he was visiting his grandparents that she'd be spending a day at Fred and George's shop, meet some smooth talker and forget all about him. Worse than all that, he feared for the day Charlie would decide to get involved again.

He hadn't seen the older wizard since that evening at his house, but the threat of him rung in his head far too often. It annoyed Seamus that he didn't know where he stood with Charlie. He could assume that since Ginny was still his best friend and that Charlie was gone he had accepted Seamus's confession for the truce. A part of him knew that was the most likely option, but another part wondered if Charlie wasn't writing Ginny weekly letters to warn her off of him. It's not like Seamus had seen Ginny since that dinner night either. They'd written regularly, sure, but what if it would be different now that they were together again? What if Charlie had had an impact on their friendship that he wasn't prepared to handle?

Seamus hated it. He hated doubting himself. He was a confident and self-assured teenaged boy. Why did loving Ginny have to change that? He was hoping that it was just being away from her and not knowing what she was getting into that was causing the ridiculous fears. All he knew was that as she smiled at him from her seat next to him all his worries seemed to melt away. He just hoped they'd stay away.

The sorting started then and – having been sitting at the empty end of the table reserved for first years to secure he could save their seats – he had no choice but to pay attention. It didn't last long and Gryffindor house gained four new boys and five new girls by the end of it. They dutifully filed into the open seats at the end of the table and Ginny was quick to rope them into conversation. Finding an older student freely willing to answer their questions many of them decided to take advantage of it and Seamus laughed as Ginny, tired of having to raise her voice to be heard by the girl sitting four people away and across the table, moved her seat so she was instead centered with five of them across from and two on each side of her.

It took a few minutes of watching her while he was eating to notice that the little girl nearest him wore a frown while she listened to Ginny talk. "What's wrong?"

She looked up to him, startled at being spoken to. "Nothing," she answered quietly. "It's nothing."

"You can tell me if something's wrong you know," he prodded gently. "I might be able to help."

She gave it a minute's thought before she sighed. "It's just that she sounds like she has so much fun here."

"And that's a bad thing?" Seamus asked slowly, confused.

"Well it's great for her isn't it?" the girl asked. "She's talking about sneaking around with friends and all that."

Seamus still didn't understand it. He scooted closer to her on the bench, filling Ginny's vacated seat. "And it's bad for you that she has friends to sneak around with?"

"It's not _that_," she rolled her eyes. "I'm happy for her, really. _She_ sounds like she has great friends."

"Thanks," Seamus grinned lightly. "I'm her friend you know."

"I thought as much when I saw you two sitting beside each other."

"Sorry," Seamus frowned at her tone. "I'm getting you off topic. If it's not that then what is it?"

She sighed again, like this was very difficult for her to explain further. "Well I don't have any friends do I?"

"It's your first day," Seamus reasoned. "Not even day, you've not even been at the castle a full hour."

"Yes, but _those_ girls," she said pointing to the two farthest away on the other side of the table, "sat together on the train and now that they're sorted together they're friends. And the other two decided that since those girls were friends they should be too. That left me with no one. Even the boys will be paired off evenly."

Seamus thought over how to respond very carefully. It was apparent that this was a very big deal to the girl. He tried to think back to his first day at Hogwarts and how hard it was for him to make friends, but all he remembered was Dean slipping into the seat beside him after his sorting and them grinning at each other – instant best friends. He suddenly wished Neville wasn't down the table with Harry and Ron because he would know what to say in this situation. Neville had had a difficult time really working into their group of dorm mates at first and he thought he'd be able to give the little girl hope seeing as he had so many friends now.

"Who did you sit with on the train?" he asked hesitantly.

She flushed and looked across the hall to the other tables, "two of those Hufflepuff boys and one from Ravenclaw."

"And no girls?" he raised an eyebrow.

"No," she said sadly, "no girls."

"What was your name?" he asked her, not having been paying enough attention to the sorting to be able to recall it.

"Wendy."

"Well, Wendy," he smiled. "I think you should know that on the train my first year I sat with two girls who were sorted into Slytherin and one guy who went to Ravenclaw. I didn't have any friends in this house until after I was sorted."

"But how long," she asked quietly. "How long do I have to wait until I have friends here?"

Seamus felt really bad for her then. She sounded almost desperate to have friends in her house. That's probably why he ended up offering himself. "I'll tell you what," he smiled softly at her, "when we all go back to the common room after dinner I want you to spend the evening trying to make friends with the other first years. At breakfast tomorrow if you're still not comfortable enough to join them you can sit with me – we'll be friends."

"Really?" she asked, looking up at him hopefully.

"Only if you promise to try with them tonight," he negotiated.

"I promise," she smiled happily. "Will she be there too?"

"If you're talking about Ginny there then yes," he nodded. "We eat most meals together. See this guy here too?" he asked gesturing across to the table to Dean, who was too wrapped up in a conversation with Dennis Creevey to notice. She nodded to show she did. "That's Dean. He's my other best friend and he'll be there too. So you've already got three friends."

Wendy beamed at him. "And what's your name?"

"Seamus," he laughed.

"I can't wait to write home," she said happily. "Denny – that's one of my older brothers – he said no one would want to be my friend. I already have _three_ though and you're all older than him!"

Seamus chuckled. "Well now you can tell Denny that you're friends with three of the coolest people in this castle."

"Thanks Seamus," she smiled again. He watched as she turned back towards her plate and shook his head at her.

"You're welcome Wendy," he said. "Just remember our deal; you have to spend the evening trying to make friends with the other first years too."

Wendy nodded, swallowing a mouthful of food, and turned towards the boy next to her to introduce herself. Over her head Seamus saw Ginny watching him with a raised eyebrow. He shrugged in response and Ginny, having satisfied the others curiosity enough for them to enjoy the feast, moved back over to the seat beside him. Seamus made room for her on his right, choosing to stay close to Wendy in case she needed something else from him.

"Making a friend?" Ginny asked as she sat down and finally filled a plate.

"Making us both a friend," he nodded. Speaking quietly so he wouldn't be over heard by Wendy, he replayed his conversation.

"That was sweet, Seamus," Ginny smiled at him. "You handled that well."

"Merlin I hope so," he sighed. "I'd hate to be responsible if everything got worse for her."

"It's hard for first years," Ginny shrugged. "Most of them don't really know anybody else – especially if they're muggle-born. That's why I pay them so much attention. When I first got here I had my brothers to cling to; most of them have no one."

"They have each other," Seamus pointed out.

Ginny shook her head in disagreement. "Very few people can make a lasting close friend when they first get here. Harry and Ron and Dean and you were lucky. I didn't start really bonding with the people in my year until at least the second day during classes."

Seamus chose not to respond. It was obvious they had differing views and he had no desire to argue it out with her as it really held no importance to him. He'd helped Wendy and that was enough for him. He ate another forkful of his roasted chicken when an idea hit him. He hadn't seen Ginny in a month and there was something he was dying to ask her. He looked up with a large grin on his face. "Hey Gin, truth or dare?"

She looked up to him, her eyes shining and a grin to match his on her face. "Dare," she said excitedly. "It's been so long."

Seamus smirked. "I dare you to grab your goblet, stand up, demand the tables' attention and toast our new house members and the start of the year."

"Sounds fun," she smirked back, not one bit uncomfortable. Seamus knew she wouldn't care, everyone but the first years were used to their stunts from last year and took them in stride. She carefully climbed on top of the bench, now a few feet taller than everyone else, and leaned down to grab her goblet, keeping a hand on Seamus's shoulder as a precaution. "Excuse me!" she called down the table. "Can I get every Gryffindors' attention for a few short moments?"

"Here we go," Dean muttered. Loud enough for the people several seats away to hear he called out, "why don't you guys just get everyone's attention. You know how this is going to go."

Seamus laughed and waited while the table slowly fell silent. He felt a tap on his left shoulder and turned his head towards Wendy. Whispering so as not to interrupt the hush that had fallen over their end of the table she asked, "What is she doing?"

"Just wait and see," Seamus smiled.

"Thank you," Ginny called then, having gotten a satisfactory amount of attention placed upon her. "Welcome to another year in the Gryffindor family of Hogwarts!" There were a few cheers and Ginny smiled while she waited for the quiet again. "We have another wicked year ahead of us with nine very awesome new members. I say we raise a toast to our first years," Ginny said passionately, "and to making this year the best one yet!"

Dennis seemed to take Ginny's words to heart and joined her in standing on his seat. "To our first years," he cried, raising his own goblet, "and to another wicked year in Gryffindor!"

The majority of the table raised their goblets as well, echoing the sentiments, and Ginny slipped happily back onto the bench, squeezing Seamus's shoulder once before releasing her hold and going back to her meal as if nothing had changed. Seamus noticed a good number of the Hufflepuffs at the next table were looking over at them curiously, no doubt wondering since when toasts were made at this school by anyone but Dumbledore. With that thought Seamus turned towards the Head Table and his eyes locked with Dumbledore's, who had been watching the scene with a twinkle in his eye. Seamus smiled at the Headmaster who nodded his head once in return.

To kick off the start of the school year Seamus and Ginny had decided it best to postpone any major prank planning, which was just as well as most of the evening was spent catching up with various friends. They actually hadn't even seen much of each other, as Seamus seemed to get along better with the girl half of Gryffindor and Ginny the boy. As a result once they reached to common room they were called away by different people. Towards the end of the night Ginny found herself, funnily enough, in the company of her brother, Harry and Hermione. They sat around an opened window, enjoying the late summer breeze that drifted through and lamented the end of summer's warm, lazy days.

Neville joined them not long after, greeting Ginny for the first time that night with a warm smile and cheery, "hello."

"Hi," she smiled back. "You seem in high spirits."

"Just relieved to be around so many familiar faces," he told her. "Gran took me on a holiday with her this summer to visit an old friend of hers. I didn't know anyone there besides Gran and her friend. It's nice to be back with my own friends - and people my age for that matter."

"Come stay at our house next time," Ginny told him, "you'll get sick of their familiar faces soon enough."

"I'll keep that in mind," Neville chuckled.

"Hey!" Ron said indignantly, sitting up from his reclined position and ready to defend him self. "I take that personally!"

"You were supposed to," she rolled her eyes and everyone else laughed at the siblings. "Why else do you think I was so ready to spend a day at Seamus's house instead of ours for once?"

"Don't blame that on him," Seamus said, coming up to join them with Dean on his tail. "Everybody already knows you just wanted me all to yourself and didn't want to have to share me with your family."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Like I could keep you from mum," she teased, "your new best friend."

"No need to be jealous," Seamus smiled, sitting in the chair beside her and playfully putting a comforting arm around her shoulders. "As much as I love Molly Weasley, I can't get up to the same mischief with her as I do with you."

"Good to learn why we're really such good friends," she laughed. "You're using me so you'll have good stories to tell your dad! Merlin knows without me you'd just be lost."

"Gotta do what I can to make dad happy," he winked.

"Speaking of your dad," Ron spoke up, "did he like the samples Fred and George sent him?"

Seamus laughed, but Dean was the one to answer. "Did he ever," he muttered. "Since I didn't know he had them, I was his unfortunate victim during my visit."

"Bummer," Ron shook his head. "I know how that is."

"We all do," Harry added.

"It was all in good fun," Seamus waved a dismissive hand. He turned to Neville, the only one in the group who had not met his dad and explained. "Dad has a real taste for mischief," he told him. "Their family came over for dinner one night this summer and dad just loved Fred and George."

Neville gave a wry smile. "They are the ones to go to when looking for mischief."

"More like trouble," Hermione added.

"I just wish I'd known that he buddy-ed up to them," Dean shook his head. "The warning would have been nice. Clearly Seamus didn't feel it important to do so however."

"Warning you would've taken all the fun out of it," he grinned.

The conversation came to a halt then and Ginny took the time to observe that Seamus had not removed his arm from her shoulders. She hadn't really noticed at first, but now that she wasn't following a conversation all she was aware of was the weight of his arm as it loosely rested on her. She shifted slightly, not sure if she should mention it, shrug it off, or just pretend it wasn't there. The shift jostled his arm and he looked over. There was surprise shining in his eyes and his cheeks flushed faintly. It was clear he had forgotten it was there as well and she smiled at him. He removed his arm from her shoulders, but left it draped over the back of her chair. If she sat back all the way his arm would still press against her. Without consciously thinking about it she did.

Later, when she was ready to retire to bed, Seamus used the arm around the back of the chair to pull her into a half hug. It was an odd moment because, as close of a friendship as they had, they hadn't actually ever hugged before. They touched each other sure – Ginny often pestered Seamus into carrying her around – but there was something more intimate about the gesture. She hugged her family and she hugged Dean and Michael in the past, but she'd never really hugged her friends. She felt unexpected warmth rush through her body and decided she wouldn't mind hugging Seamus more often. She returned the hug and gave him another smile as she got up and bid everyone goodnight. When she reached the stairs to the dormitory she turned back once and noticed Seamus's arm was now resting in his lap, the now empty chair beside him forgotten.

* * *

**A/N:** Very slight Seamus/Ginny here, but the school year's only just begun. It won't be long before something more happens between them. I know some of you have said you're waiting for it, but please be a bit more patient with me.

Wendy had to happen. There are many chapters left to come for this story and Wendy, along with some of her friends that we'll meet soon, and characters you already know come to play in my plans for this story. So I'm sorry if it seems pointless now, but it won't be.


	6. Settling In

**A/N:** It was a bit of a wait, sorry. Things have been hectic. This was the last of the chapters that were pre-written, but I have an outline for each chapter after this so hopefully it won't be long to write them out and update again.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything you recognize from the Harry Potter series.

* * *

Ginny despised the idea of getting out of bed. It was only the knowledge that she had potions that morning that even stopped her from falling back asleep – she didn't want to deal with a Snape punishment. Instead she just lay in bed not quite ready to get out from under the covers. She'd be late to breakfast but that was hardly a problem. Seamus would make sure to save her anything good before it was gone. She stayed in bed while all her dorm mates dressed and got ready. They left shortly after and she smiled at the empty room. No one would mind if she just laid down a little bit longer right? Apparently she was wrong because not long after their departure there was a knock at the door followed by the sound of it opening.

"Ginny?" someone asked hesitantly. "Are you still in here?"

Ginny sighed and sat up, opening her curtains to find Wendy standing just inside the door. "I'm here," she told the first year. "Just haven't gotten out of bed yet."

"You better hurry," Wendy giggled. "Seamus sent me up to get you. He's waiting in the common room."

Ginny groaned. "I was counting on him to save me the good food at breakfast."

"Want me to send him ahead for you?"

"Thanks Wendy," Ginny smiled. "I should probably just get up though. Did he say what he was waiting for?"

Wendy shook her head. "He had some sort of idea, but wouldn't tell me anything else."

"Of course," Ginny rolled her eyes, finally climbing out of bed. "Can you tell him I'll be down in a few minutes then?"

Wendy nodded but instead of leaving she hesitated at the door. "Can I ask you something Ginny?"

"Absolutely," Ginny said, opening her trunk and pulling out her uniform. "What's on your mind?"

"Will you promise not to get mad at me for asking?"

Ginny raised an eyebrow but nodded. "I won't get mad."

Wendy hesitated another second and then asked. "Are you and Seamus dating?"

Ginny blinked, not having expected such a question from the little girl. After a minute she answered, "No."

"But then why does he save you seats at meals and walk with you in the corridors and help you with your homework?" Wendy asked.

"We're just really close friends," Ginny shrugged, trying to keep her promise and not get mad. She was tired of people always assuming her and Seamus were an item. They were friends and she didn't see why no one could understand that. "You're friends with a few boys right? And you're not dating them are you?"

"No!" Wendy shook her head immediately. "I'm not dating any of them."

"But you're still friends," Ginny explained, "just like Seamus and I are friends."

"Okay," Wendy nodded. "But… do you want to date Seamus?"

Ginny narrowed her eyes. "Did someone put you up to this?"

"I just – well, the girls in my dorm were wondering. I told them I'd ask Seamus but they said I had to ask you because boys would lie."

Ginny smiled in understanding. She'd noticed the first year girls get giggly when Seamus was around. "You can tell them I'm not dating Seamus. And for the record, he wouldn't lie to you either. Seamus is an honest bloke."

"Okay," Wendy said happily. "I'll go tell him you'll be down in a few minutes."

"Okay," she smiled back. "I'll see you at dinner."

When she was done getting ready Ginny grabbed her bag and ventured down to the common room. "I did not want to get out of bed this morning," she announced as soon as she saw Seamus, "so it better be worth it."

"Truth or dare?" Seamus smiled.

"I got out of bed for a truth or dare," she half laughed, half scolded. "Couldn't you have waited?"

He shook his head, "had to happen before breakfast."

"I assume you want me to say dare then?" she sighed.

"I was hoping so."

"Truth," she smirked.

"That's okay," he smirked back. "I'm prepared. If you had to chose between living with Fred for a month and living with George for a month which would you pick?"

"Really Seamus?" she laughed. "That's the question?"

He shrugged. "I was really hoping you'd pick dare."

"George," she answered. "He's the neater of the two. Truth or dare?"

Seamus raised an eyebrow; it was rare for either of them to ask back so quickly. "Dare."

She nodded, figuring he'd pick dare since she hadn't. "I dare you to call Neville by the wrong name all day."

"Nice," Seamus laughed. "Anything particular I should be calling him?"

"Nope," she smiled. "Just not Neville or Longbottom or any form of the two."

"Got it. Truth or dare?"

"Dare," she answered. "Let's have whatever it is that I got up for."

"Sing me a song at breakfast," he smiled at her, "I dare you."

Ginny's jaw actually dropped for a second. She was not a good singer and Seamus was well aware of that fact. She pulled herself back together quickly and glared at him. "Any particular song?"

"Nope," Seamus said happily. "I just want to hear you sing."

"Fine," she sighed, "let's go."

Once they were out the common room entrance and walking towards the Great Hall Ginny turned to Seamus. "We should write your dad tonight," she told him. "We've been here two weeks without doing it."

"You're the one that promised to write him often not me," Seamus complained lightly. "I've got loads of homework to do tonight still, not to mention any that will be assigned today."

"He's your father Seamus not mine," she told him. "Besides, if you can find time to write my mum then you can definitely find time to write your dad."

"Alright," Seamus sighed. "Can we do it before dinner then?"

"Sounds excellent," she smiled happily. They walked in silence for a few moments before she turned to him again. "You know," she said casually, "Wendy asked me if we were dating this morning."

"She did huh?" Seamus answered, sounding just as casual. "Why'd she ask that?"

"Her room mates thought we were. They all have little crushes on you."

"They do not," he rolled his eyes, nudging her in the side lightly for emphasis. "They're probably just curious."

"Seamus, they blush and get all giggly when you're around. Not to mention they hang on your everyword! Face it, you've got admirers," she smirked.

"They're _eleven_," he told her, his cheeks faintly flushed. "They don't quite count as admirers."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," she snorted. "It's a good thing we're not dating or I'd probably have a band of little girls after me!"

"Oh shut it," Seamus rolled his eyes. "Now you're definitely exaggerating."

"You were never a little girl Seamus. You don't know." She got a thoughtful look on her face and then smiled. "I should have a little slumber party with them this weekend! I bet they'd love to hear all about you."

"Ginny," he said warningly.

"Relax Seamus," she said, looping her arm through his. "I'll only tell them the good things about you."

"Ginny," he repeated sharply.

"Oh look the Great Hall!" she said brightly before he could say anything else in protest, dropping his arm and sprinting across the Entrance Hall. "Hurry up," she called back to him, "I have a song to sing and breakfast to eat!"

* * *

Seamus waited for Ginny at the end of the Charms corridor, as had become custom, before lunch feeling utterly worn out. The start of school had been rough on him. It had taken the full past two weeks to settle in from his lazy summer to be able to wake up early and manage to concentrate all day on lessons. If it weren't for Hermione, who'd seemed to take a personal interest in his well being and education this year, he would have easily slept or daydreamed through most of his classes and rarely completed his assignments. He had a sneaking suspicion that Mrs. Weasley was behind the gesture and felt oddly touched, if not a little annoyed at being nagged regularly.

When Ginny appeared she looked the complete opposite of him. She had a beaming smile on her face and she was practically skipping. "Good afternoon!" she greeted, grabbing his hand as she passed and continuing to skip around the corner and down the next corridor. "How's the morning been?"

"Tiring," he shook his head, being practically dragged behind her. Not that he would complain, as she was holding his hand. That sort of thing had been happening a lot, he noticed. There were a lot of touches, hugs and contact that never used to be there. He didn't have the slightest bit of problem with it happening. It almost seemed like Ginny didn't even realize she was doing it sometimes – he didn't know if that was good or bad. Shaking the thoughts from his head he turned his attention back to her. "What's got you so cheery? Weren't you the one who wanted to stay in bed all day?"

"Not all day," she turned and rolled her eyes at him, "just a little later than I did. And I'm in a good mood," she continued her smile brightening "because today we learned how to produce streams of water with our wands and the results were _hilarious_. We nearly flooded the Charms room. On another note, we also learned the drought charm today too. Flitwick scolded us, but I saw him trying not to smile."

"How did you manage to flood the room?"

"Did you forget?" she asked. "I have Charms with the Slytherins."

"You didn't Ginny!" he laughed.

She stopped skipping and turned to smile at him. "My wand arm was just so weak today," she explained innocently. "I could barely hold it up."

"Seriously," he raised an eyebrow. "What really happened?"

She gave him a wicked grin. "Who says I'm lying?"

"Oh come on Ginny," he snorted. "I know you."

"Okay fine," she shrugged. "Vaisey _may_ have been running his mouth about his "fantastic Quidditch skills" and I _may_ have gotten sick of it."

"Of course you did," Seamus chuckled. "And you aimed your wand at him?"

"Aim my wand at another student in class?" she gasped in mock terror. "Never! His bag on the other hand…"

He shook his head as she trailed off with a smirk. "You are a handful Ginny."

"Eh, you do a good job of taking care of me though."

"Somehow I've gotten used to it."

"Oh don't you give me that," she laughed. "If I wasn't a handful you wouldn't love me half as much!"

"Well I wouldn't like you as much if you were easy, that's for sure," he agreed. Once the words were out of his mouth he realized just what he'd said and how it could be taken another way. His cheeks flushed and he hoped that Ginny didn't misinterpret, but all she did was laugh and start skipping again, swinging their clasped hands as she went and forcing him to pick up his pace to stay with her.

They were just coming to the first slight of stairs they had to take when they spotted Wendy, who promptly pulled the three friends she was with over to introduce since they were not part of her Gryffindor group. True to her word, Wendy had tried to make friends with the other new Gryffindors. Things were going well for her, Seamus figured, much better than that first night he met her. She'd come around at breakfast that first day to tell him thanks, but she wouldn't need to be sitting with him at breakfast after all, before asking very hopefully if she could at dinner again instead. Seamus had laughed and agreed and every day since Wendy had spent breakfast and lunch with her friends and dinner with him and his friends, sometimes combining the two groups as well. She seemed to have formed an attachment to Seamus that bewildered him and made Ginny laugh. Ginny reasoned that she probably missed her brothers – she had four of them, all older – and that Seamus was officially her brother-type at school, whether he liked it or not. He couldn't say he really minded.

Seamus realized now that these three must be the boys she'd sat with on the train and felt pleased that she was still friends with them as well. There was Leonardo, the Ravenclaw, then Russell and Brendan, the two Hufflepuffs. Seamus was happy to see things were going well for her. He would have felt somehow responsible if things didn't simply because he told her it would.

"Leo and me have been sitting together in Potions," Wendy told them after the introductions. "And I have to help Russell and Brendan in Charms because they goof around too much to pay attention sometimes."

"As long as you're paying attention," Seamus raised an eyebrow, turning his statement into more of a question.

"Of course!" she said, sounding scandalized at not paying attention to her Professors. "Good marks run in my family and just because I'm learning completely different things than they ever learned doesn't mean I'm not going to try my hardest."

"That's what I like to hear," Seamus grinned proudly at her, as if it were his own doing she was a dedicated student.

"Let's just hope that mentality stays with you over the years," Ginny smiled, "like next year when Seamus is gone and the one after when I'm not around either. Neither of us will be here to check up on you."

"I'll still be checking up on her," Leo promised.

"Yeah," Russell smiled lazily. "We'll keep an eye on her so she can keep an eye on us."

"We'll see about that," Seamus gave them an amused smile. "Let's see how you all get through this year first, eh?"

"A lot can happen in a year," Ginny agreed, sending a meaningful smile over to Seamus. "You never know what to expect."

"Once a friend always a friend," Brendan shrugged. Seamus got the feeling that the kid truly believed they would always be good friends and, though he had his own doubts, he could understand why he was a Hufflepuff - loyal indeed.

"Most likely," Ginny nodded, "but sometimes who you're closest with changes. Seamus and I didn't become best friends till last year and, though I still hang out with my other friends, I'm clearly closest with Seamus."

"Is that why you two do weird things?" Leo asked intently.

"In a way," Seamus smiled and shrugged. "We don't do weird things because we're close; we're close because we do weird things."

"Cause that makes sense," Leo rolled his eyes.

"It's a game," Ginny explained. "We've been friends for years, but we started playing a game and that brought us closer."

"What game," Brendan wrinkled his nose.

"Truth or Dare of course," Wendy spoke confidently, having picked up on the knowledge of the game like all the other Gryffindors. "What other game would bring them closer _and_ have them both acting randomly sometimes?"

"But truth or dare isn't this long of a game," Leo reasoned. "They've been doing this for two weeks straight."

Seamus smirked. "It lasts this long if it's basically everlasting."

"You're playing an everlasting game?" Russell asked in wonder. "How do you make it last so long?"

"You just find new things," Ginny shrugged.

"And never say the game is over" Seamus added. "You can put it on hold and go do other things – like sleep and classes – but never say it's the end of the game. Then, logically, it can't end."

Ginny nodded. "We've had to ask so many questions it was inevitable that we grew close. It can only end when someone takes a consequence and neither has yet."

"Can I join?" Wendy asked excitedly.

"Sorry," Seamus smiled at her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "We don't accept new players. We didn't even let Dean join."

Wendy sniffed in annoyance. "Fine," she said, "I'll start my own game."

"Think it over carefully," Seamus warned. "It was a spur of the moment thing for us, but we knew exactly what we were getting into. We never lie and we do ever dare."

"Even the ones you don't want to do," Ginny added, "which is why everyone sitting near me got a preview of my horrid singing this morning."

"We heard you over at our table," Brendan grinned wickedly. "You weren't too horrid."

"Gee, thanks," Ginny said dryly. She shook her head as the boy laughed and turned to Wendy. "I was thinking after you left this morning. How about Saturday night I sleep over in your room? Your dorm mates, you and me? Does that sound fun?"

"Does it ever!" Wendy beamed. "That would be such a blast!"

"Brilliant," Ginny smiled. "After dinner Saturday then."

"I can't wait to tell the others," Wendy gushed. "Come on guys, we have to get to the Great Hall!"

Seamus watched Wendy pratically run down the stairs and into the corridor below, Russell and Leonardo on her tail; Brendan stayed behind with Ginny and himself. Even though he liked the kid, Seamus decided to ignore him for the moment to deal with more pressing matters. He turned to shoot a glare at Ginny. "Why did you say that?"

"Say what?" she asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"That you'd have the sleep over with the first years," he expanded.

"Oh," Ginny shrugged, "I told you I wanted too. And I was right, she was excited."

"I told you I didn't want you to," he countered angrily.

"No you didn't," she smiled, "All you said was 'Ginny' a couple times."

Seamus felt his cheeks flush in anger at her imitation of his tone on top of the anger already brewing inside him about the sleep over. "I'm serious Ginny. And you knew what I meant."

Ginny shrugged, seemingly unaffected by his anger, "Can't change it now. I bet they're all down there planning out their questions as we speak."

"I don't want you gossiping about me to little girls," he snapped. "Thanks for respecting my wishes."

With out another word he fled down the stairs, ignoring her as she called his name and demanded he come back.

Ginny watched him take off and ignore her calls in shock. Was he really that angry about a stupid sleep over? She stood there for a moment and just blinked after him before she heard a voice from beside her and remembered she wasn't alone.

"That didn't seem to go well," Brendan noted conversationally.

"I don't know what his problem is," Ginny told him.

"Of course you do," Brendan said, giving her a look that made her feel like she may possibly be an idiot. "He just said what his problem was."

"Well yeah I heard that," she brushed off his words. "But he couldn't possibly get _that _angry over a sleep over. Something else must be wrong."

"Maybe you should ask him."

"No," Ginny sighed, "I better let him cool down. Last time I went after him when he was in a foul mood he really snapped - threw the books I was holding in the lake."

"What did you do then?" Brendan asked, eyes slightly wide.

"I didn't do anyting," Ginny said, feeling offended at the implication. "He was just stressed out and ranting."

"Maybe he's stressed out now," he suggested.

"He was fine before though," she frowned. "We were laughing and everything."

"Okay," he said slowly, thinking of another reason. "Maybe he _really _just didn't want you to have the sleep over. If he already told you he didn't and you went a head anyway... well, it's something to be mad about."

"Maybe," Ginny sighed. "I guess I'll just have to see."

"Let's go to lunch then," Brendan smiled. "Nothing can be done standing at the top of a flight of stairs."

"Yeah," Ginny gave him a half smile. "I guess you're right." They walked down the stairs silently, Ginny realizing she didn't quite know what to say to the boy. It took a moment for something to pop into her head. "Why didn't you run ahead with the others? Why hang back with us?"

"Didn't feel like running," he shrugged. "Besides I wanted to talk with Seamus."

"Sorry you didn't get a chance."

"Not a big deal," he shrugged again. Ginny wondered if she we so easy going at that age or if it was just how Brendan was. "You can't control everything. I'll get a chance to talk to him some other time."

"You have a unique way of seeing things," she told him.

He shook his head in disagreement. "I just don't see a need to get worked up over little things. What good would it do me to get mad at you for making Seamus mad and, as a result, not allowing me to talk to him? It's pretty pointless." He paused and frowned a little. "My dad's quick tempered and it gets him nothing but petty arguments – or that's what mum says at least. Mum and me, we just kind of go with the flow."

Ginny gave a light laugh. "Unfortunately enough, I'm terribly quick tempered myself."

"So really you should be the one mad right now?"

"In theory," she nodded, "except I'm not mad so much as confused."

"Is Seamus quick tempered?" he asked.

Ginny briefly considered that maybe Seamus was getting another little following before answering. "No," she said quietly, "he's not; which is why I don't know what really triggered his anger."

"Well we're at the Great Hall now," he smiled up at her. "Guess you'll have to ask him! I'll see you around."

They walked through the doors together and she watched as Brendan took off down his table until he fell into the empty seat beside Russell, the smile never left his face. She turned her attention to her own table then and sought out Seamus. She found him half way down the length and walked up to him. When she got there, she noticed something was very wrong. There wasn't a spot for her. Seamus always saved a spot for her. He must have been even madder than she thought.

"Seamus?" she asked from behind him. "Can we talk?"

"Later okay?" he asked, barely pulling his attention away from Lavender as she told some story. With out even waiting for her to agree he turned fully back to Lavender and proceeded to ignore her.

She didn't know what to think. Seamus had never brushed her off before, let alone ignored her. She continued down the table to find someone to sit with, but all her friends were surrounded by people already. Everyone was so used to her eating with Seamus that nobody bothered to save her a seat anymore. When she reached the end of the table she found a few open seats surrounding Neville. He was seated in the very end seat and had a text book propped open in front of him. He didn't look like he wanted to be disturbed so she sat beside him very quietly and began to fill her plate. She picked at her food dejectedly, not having much of an appetite left. It was only five minutes before Neville noticed her.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Its lunch," she shrugged.

"Yeah, but Seamus is way down there," he answered, pointing down the table as if she hadn't noticed him.

"I know," she smiled sadly. "He's sitting with some other people today."

"Is everything okay?" Neville frowned.

"Its fine," she answered automatically.

"You're not fighting are you?" he asked slowly. Ginny wanted to laugh.

"I don't know," she answered honestly. "He said we'd talk later."

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" he asked, trying to be helpful.

"I appreciate the offer, but no thanks Neville," she smiled at his kindness. "I just need to talk to him and clear things up."

Neville nodded in understanding then, thankfully, changed the subject. "You ready for Quidditch try outs?"

"Ready as can be," she told him. "I'm not too worried though since I was on the team last year. I know it doesn't guarantee me a spot, but I have a good feeling about it."

"You'll make it," Neville said confidently. "You're a great flyer."

"Thanks," she smiled at the compliment. She sighed a little and looked up to him. "I guess I should apologize for the names today."

"Don't worry," he laughed. "The second time he messed up my name I knew it was your doing. I don't really mind. Except I never know when he's really talking to me or not. I think it frustrates him more than me."

"Oh good," Ginny grinned, "an added bonus."

"Yeah, the real problem's been that the first names that pop into his head are his friends. So he's been calling me names like Dean and Harry getting their attention instead."

Ginny laughed. "Next time I'll have to help him with some original names."

"That's probably be a good idea," Neville laughed back.

"So what are you studying?" she asked.

"Not studying," he shook his head, "just reading. Professor Sprout just finished a new book and lent it to me." He tilted it so she could read the title Cold Weather Plants of the Northern Region. "She always lets me borrow the new ones because the library is a little slow to get them."

"That's nice of her," Ginny smiled. "Any good so far?"

"If you like Herbology it's great," he shrugged. "It might bore you a bit though. You're more into Charms and Defense right?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "I never really got into Herbology, but I've always been able to cast a wicked charm."

"Isn't that the truth," an amused voice joined the conversation. They looked up to find Colin standing in front of them, a half-full plate in his hand. "Can I sit here?"

"Of course Colin," Ginny said right away.

"Great," he grinned, climbing onto the bench. "I haven't eaten a meal with you in ages so when I saw open spots I came right over."

"You can sit with Seamus and me anytime," she told him. "You're my friend."

"Yeah," he shrugged, "but we wouldn't really get to talk."

"Well we're Seamus free today," Neville smiled. "So talk away."

Ginny frowned, was that how her friends thought things were now? Did they think they couldn't sit with and talk to her when Seamus was around? That wasn't true. I mean, sure, she may always find something to talk to Seamus about, but that didn't mean she wouldn't converse with them as well. And the seats around them tended to fill pretty quickly, but if Colin just asked she'd save him a seat any day. She thought about what she'd said to Brendan earlier – _Sometimes who you're closest with changes_. Colin used to be one of her closest friends. Even while she'd started spending more time with Luna, Neville, Harry, Hermione and her brother she was still stayed close with Colin. They always worked together in class, and still did, but they rarely saw each other out side of classes now. Ginny spend all her free time with Seamus – whether they were doing their assignments, playing Truth or Dare, or scheming. Maybe it was for the best that Seamus was mad at her right now. At least now she had some time for her old friends again.

The rest of the day was odd for Ginny. She'd consciously decided to try and connect with her old friends again. She'd passed Luna in the hall and asked her if she'd like to meet up in the library before dinner and invited Colin and Neville as well. Colin and her self had shown up together and found a table to wait for Luna and Neville, who walked in a matter of minutes later. She was having a good time with them, she admitted, but it she felt just a bit like she didn't quite belong anymore. And when Seamus came in the library and stalked right up to their table she felt even more out of place.

"Did you forget we had plans?" he asked her, sounding not mad as she'd expected but confused.

"You're mad at me," she pointed out.

"I'm not mad at _you_," he said. "I'm just mad."

"You stormed away from me and wouldn't even talk to me."

"Okay fine," he sighed, "I am mad at you. That doesn't change the fact that _you_ made the plan to write my dad tonight."

"Can't you write him yourself? I have other plans now." She gestured around the table to prove her point. Neville and Colin were looking distinctly uncomfortable while Luna simply stared between them with a pleasant look on her face.

"You're the one who wanted to write the bloody letter in the first place."

"Stop getting so worked up," she rolled her eyes. "You weren't even talking to me so I used to opportunity to spend time with other friends."

"I said I would talk to you later, not that I wasn't talking to you."

"It was implied."

"Nothing was implied. I said I'd talk to you later and that's what I meant," he frowned. "I thought we had plans to write to my dad so I planned to talk to you then."

"Oh," she said stupidly. "I didn't realize."

"Obviously," he said dryly. "So imagine my surprise when I'm sitting in the common room waiting for you and Dennis tells me you made plans with his brother to go to the library."

"Sorry Seamus," she shrugged. "I'm already here with them."

"You can go Ginny," Neville spoke up. She was about to protest when he spoke up again, leaning closer and lowering his voice. "You said you just wanted to clear things up with him, now's your chance. We won't be offended."

"Are you sure?" she asked, looking around the table at the other two. Colin nodded enthusiastically and Luna smiled at her.

"Okay," she sighed. "I'll see you tomorrow Luna, and I'll see you two in the common room."

She collected her things back up, putting them in her bag quickly and stood. "I'm ready," she told Seamus. "Let's go."

He nodded and turned to the table quick. "Thanks Luna, Colin, Warren."

They walked away to the quiet sound of Neville laughing.

* * *

**A/N:** I know a fight's no fun, but it'll pretty much be worked out in the next chapter.


End file.
